Achilles
by Kessafan
Summary: Rose's life is a blank canvas and until now, her canvas has been painted in black and white... Isn't the Russian flag red? Isn't red the color of passion and fire and... fun? Can Rose learn to paint in a different color? All human, Rated VERY MA...
1. Chapter 1 Class is in

Chapter 1 – Class is In

**Monday 21 April**

**3:30pm**

"Oh Come on Rose... pleeeease." Liss whined and ended with a pout.

"Yeah... it'll be so much fun, come on Rose..." Mia said with raised eyebrows and fluttering eyelids.

All I could do was narrow my eyes and growl at my best friends. Lissa and Mia were twins, not identical or anything, but that didn't matter, they were like two peas in a pod in every other way but their looks. They had the 'puppy dog' look down pat!

"When and for how long?" I asked them. I could see the expressions on their faces change at my question so I knew I had to stop the smiles that were stretching across their faces and fast... "I'm NOT saying yes yet, so don't go doing those smiles of victory just yet..."

"It starts tonight and goes for the next six weeks." Liss informed me.

Neither one of them said anything else, they just stood there and pouting with their heads to the side and looking under their eyelashes at me... waiting. The instant I took a breath and let it out in a huff... Mia started bouncing...

"Fine..." I said, outwardly begrudgingly but secretly looking forward to the next six weeks. My acquiescence to them was followed quickly by ear drum piercing squeals from the two girls in front of me.

"Really, you'll come?" Mia asked as she grabbed my hand and continued to jump in front of me.

"Yes, I'll come."

"You won't regret it Rose..." Liss said. "We're gonna have so much fun, and it won't be a bad thing that we'll have something... nice to look at while we're doing it."

"Hopefully it'll be nice Liss." I said trying to stop the smile that threatened to erupt. I currently had many different visions flashing through my head and I wondered if we could be so lucky as to get one of them to come true.

**5:45pm**

"Come on Rose." Mia yelled as she banged on the other side of the bathroom door. "We'll be late if you don't get out of there now."

"Alright already." I said as I opened the door.

"Who are you trying to impress?" Liss asked as she walked past us.

"No-one... I'm just sick of feeling like crap and make up always makes me feel better." I said with a sad shrug of my shoulders.

"I'm sorry sweetie..." She said with a pained expression. _She was so easy to guilt. _It had only been just over two months since my break up with my boyfriend and while I was sad that things had ended, I wasn't broken up over it, the relationship had run its course. "Oh, you cow!" she yelled as I started to smile; she wasn't the only one who could quilt people... I took off out of the bathroom laughing and headed for the front door with my two best friends close behind me.

**6:20pm**

Walking into the room with my friends either side of me, I suddenly didn't know if this was something that I really wanted to do or not. Not that I had an aversion to the naked body, but what if it was some old guy with one too many beers under his belt and a wiener that you had to find with a magnifying glass; that really isn't my idea of a night well spent. The room was massive, high ceilings supported my large steel poles and to the right of where we were standing the wall was almost floor to ceiling with windows to allow as much natural light in as possible during daytime classes. Approximately half way between the wall of windows and the easels where we would soon be sitting, sat a wooden platform where some sort of backless lounge was set up with satin pillows and white cotton sheets. There was only about six other people in here with us, so at least I wouldn't have too much of an audience if I started to get embarrassed.

"Okay everyone," I heard a woman call out while clapping her hands. She was roughly in her mid to late fifties and had deep brown hair that was cut into a sharp bob style; a little out dated if you asked me, but it suited her I guess. A little bit of sunscreen in her earlier life probably wouldn't have gone astray either; she was a little on the 'leathery' side. "First of all, for those who don't know me, my name is Alberta Peters and let me welcome you all to the first class of a six week course in Life Drawing. I am the art director here at UW and I'd like to thank you all for taking the time out of your busy lives to take this class. Pick out an easel and pull out the medium that you wish to work with. As you all know, this is a life drawing class, which means we will be drawing real people and those people will be modelling for us nude."

I looked over to my friends and they both held their lips between their teeth while they wiggled their eyebrows in anticipation. This was an action that they have done all of their lives, they were so easy to read.

"We have ten minutes before tonight's model joins us, so be quick." Alberta said before walking over to a door on the far side of the room.

"This is going to be so good, I can hardly wait." Mia said in a whisper.

"God... I hope the model is a male, not that I mind drawing women but I really need to lay my eyes on some hot, naked man muscle; it's been too bloody long. Is that wrong to say that out loud?" Liss said as we made our way to the three easels at the end of the room.

_I know exactly what you mean Liss. _ I said to myself. My love life has been less than stellar since Jesse. "Not at all Liss, not at all... but knowing my luck they guy who walks out will be the man they modelled Homer Simpson from."

Mia skipped to the last easel giggling, and then Liss and I took the next two which had us situated more at the 'head' end of the model.

"I should get a good view from here." Mia said from my left.

"I can't believe you said that Mia. We aren't here to objectify the models; we're here to learn..." I said in a very convincing manner.

"Exactly." Liss said smiling. "No objectifying Mia."

"Oh you can talk Sis." Mia said with her own grin. "I can't wait until the model comes out and you go all gooey eyed at him, you couldn't look at a naked man and _not _objectify him if your life depended on it."

"It could be a 'her' you know, what will you two do then?" I offered my best friends. My suggestion however, was met with horrified looks.

"Nah... It'll be a guy," Liss said dreamy eyed. "I just hope he's tall with lean muscles and black 'just shagged' hair. Oh! And blue eyes..."

"No, he'll be blonde with green eyes." Mia crooned. "What are you hoping for Rose?"

"To not have you make fools of yourselves and embarrass me while you're at it."

"Yeah right, we can control ourselves... You know Rose's type Mia, tall and hulkishly muscular, you know... built like a tank and dominating." Liss said with a wink; sending her sister _and_ herself into fits of laughter.

"Dominating? You're such a perv Liss, your mind always ends up in the gutter. We all know you're the only one who likes to be dominated."

"You better believe it, don't make out like you're an angel Rose. And all I have to say about it is, don't knock it until you try it; there's nothing quite like being tied up and spanked."

"Oh God... La, la, la, la, la... Not what I need in my head before trying to draw a naked person..." I answered with my hands over my ears. Mia didn't seem half as disgusted as I was as she laughed with her sister and _that_ fact just ending up putting more unwanted images of my friends in bondage into my head. Just then the door opened and Alberta walked back into the room, _thank God_, if anyone could chase those dirty images out of my head, it was her.

"Okay ladies and gents. I just want to remind you that in this class it is expected that everyone conducts themselves with integrity. Even though the models are paid to do this, they don't come here to be leered at. They are here to help you so you will draw them to your best ability and give them the respect they deserve."

**6:30pm**

"Hear that." I said loud enough for just my friends to hear. "No leering and give them the respect they deserve."

"Oh, we will... _especially_ if they're deserving of it." Mia said before cackling like some sort of hyena on the prowl. I heard the door opening again as I bent down to my art supplies bag to pull out my graphite pencils. Even though we used all different mediums in our Art courses, graphite was my favourite. I can get so much more detail and when I draw with them and I go into my own little world; a world where I'm not surrounded by a pair of leering, horny twins.

I rolled my eyes as I heard Liss and Mia gasp from either side of me... _At least it's a male model! _I thought to myself. I sat up and found myself looking into the smiling jade green eyes of Lissa.

"What?" I asked her. "I'm gathering you got what you wanted?"

When I'd bent down to get my things out of my bag, I had to move my chair slightly so I wouldn't knock the easel over so where I was sitting now, I couldn't see where the model was.

"Take a look Rose." Mia said behind me. I shook my head slightly at her expression and then moved my chair into a position where I could see unhindered, but me being me, I didn't lift my chair up enough so that I could move it quietly... _nooo_... I dragged it along the floor so that it screeched loud and proud, garnering everyone's attention; and I mean _every_one, the model included.

"Holy shit!" I hissed through my teeth before my mouth dropped open like a suffocating fish out of water. Liss snorted very unladylike beside me as I sat unmoving while trying not to swallow my tongue. Before us stood the most stunning male of the human species to ever walk this earth; and he was HUGE! Just the way I like them...

The specimen in human perfection that stood in front of us in a white robe was not only one of the tallest guys I've ever seen but he was built like a tank, and he was looking directly at me. Even from here I could see that he was a God amongst men and I couldn't wait for him to drop the robe. Suddenly being tied up and spanked by him sounded like fun.

"Rose..." I heard someone whisper. "Rose... shut your mouth, you're drooling! The last thing you want is for the teacher to slip over in it when she comes over to see how much work you've done."

My mouth shut and I swallowed said drool before finally blinking my eyelids over my now dry eyeballs. The guy still hadn't taken his eyes from mine, even though... 'whatserface' was talking to him. Even in my stupor I could see that he didn't reply to whatever she asked him but she got his attention by grabbing the top of his arm; the arm I was currently thinking about licking like some half starved deviant.

When he turned his head to face Mrs Whatserface, it allowed me to come somewhat out of the trance I'd found myself in.

"Rose... breathe." I heard behind me, I took a deep pull of oxygen almost as if I was on autopilot and swallowed deeply again.

"Holy shit..." I whispered.

"Yeah, you said that already..."

"Are you two seeing what I'm seeing?" I asked.

"If you're talking about that huge hunk of rippling sex muscle, then yes... we are." Mia said giggling.

Ignoring her comment, I tried to get myself under some sort of control. "Holy shit... How in the hell am I going to be able to concentrate on drawing... _him?"_

"Don't look at him as a whole; just concentrate on the bit that you're drawing at the time." Liss said. I wasn't sure if she was trying to be serious or not, so I turned to find out, the smile on her face sort of made it seem as though she wasn't.

"Liss, I don't think I'm going to be able to do this. Not only is everyone in the room going to know _exactly _what I'm thinking and _exactly _what I'm drawing just by the color of my face, but my hand isn't going to stay still enough to draw a straight line, let alone... _his _lines..."

"Okay everyone, let's start shall we." Whatserface said from the front of the room.

"Just pick up the pencil Rose." Lissa said as I stared at the blank paper in front of me.

I chose to ignore the snort of laughter from Mia behind me. "Just make sure it's got enough _lead _in it." She giggled. I could see this was going to be a _long, long _night. As I turned back to the gap between my easel and Lissa's, my eyes locked once again with the man who suddenly rendered me dumbstruck. He lifted his chin slightly and then at the edge of my vision, I could see his hands move to pull at the belt of his robe.

My tongue came out to wet my bottom lip before I pulled it between my teeth. I knew that since laying eyes on him, my heart rate had jumped up more notches than could possibly be healthy and I could also feel that I now had a fine layer of sweat on my forehead. _God it's hot in here... _

Just then I saw his robe come apart and my eyes were drawn downwards. "Oh shit..." I whispered as my eyes took in his muscular chest and washboard abs. I couldn't help but squirm on the stool I was sitting on, an action that if going by his slight grin, he was obviously pleased with. After my eyes followed the robe to the floor, they made their way upwards. I watched as he reached down and picked up the sheet that rested on the padded leather settee and then positioned himself in a pose that I was somewhat familiar with. He was lying not unlike the statue of Achilles that we'd used as a reference last week in our abstract class.

He sat with his face turned to me, his left leg bent at the knee with his heel just in front of his – groin. His right leg was pulled straight out to the side, accentuating the well defined muscles and sinews of his mouth-watering thigh and calf. The sheet was draped over his bent left leg but I don't know why... it didn't hide much. _Oh God... I knew it, he has long fingers... it only stands to reason he'd have a long... Hmm... Maybe his arm isn't the only thing mouth-watering lickable. _I thought as blood rushed to my face. I was still squirming and he was still staring...

"Are you going to start drawing Rose?" Mia said behind me. I didn't have to look at her to know that she was smiling at me. "And stop squirming; you'll slip off the stool..." At that, Lissa choked on a laugh drawing the teacher's attention.

"Sorry..." she said quickly before getting to work on her charcoal drawing. Somehow I pulled my eyes away from him and looked down at the arrangement of graphite pencils in front of me.

_Get a hold of yourself Hathaway, pull yourself together and be a professional... stop leering and objectifying. _

I looked up and narrowed my eyes at the blank paper in front of me; it wasn't sitting in the right direction. I grabbed the backing board and lifted it slightly before turning the mechanism at the bottom so that I could raise the resting board higher up. I turned the backing board into the 'landscape' or should I say 'man-scape' position so that now I could fill so much more of the paper with his amazing body.

I glanced back to 'Achilles' and couldn't help but grin when I was met with smiling brown eyes. Looking back to my paper I did a rough basic shape of his pose so that I could get it all in proportion. When that was finished, I looked back... I didn't know where to start.

His face was stunningly beautiful yet completely 'male'... slightly squared jaw line, straight narrow nose between large and expressive deep brown eyes. His plump, cupid bow shaped lips were slightly parted; my brain saying they were just waiting to be met with another set of slightly open lips... all this framed in slightly wavy, long brown hair that was haphazardly pulled back in some sort of leather tie. Strands at the front had either been purposely left out or they'd been tugged out by some floozy's fingers before class; some floozy _not _named Rose.

Then there was his chest... the chest that seemed as though it had been chiselled by Michelangelo himself, not to mention the abs... _Oh God, the abs... _The abs that flowed smoothly into my favourite 'V' shape; drawing my eyes to the flesh peppered with a trail of hair that lead downwards to the Promised Land. I quickly looked away aware that I was once again staring... I could feel my face flaming red and I knew _he _could see it.

I tried my best to keep my attention on the paper in front of me instead of the flesh and blood God who was staring at me but my eyes seemed to have minds of their own... I was well aware of the snickers from the hussies beside me and I knew that if I made it out of here alive; I'd make them pay! I just had to live for another two and a half hours without having an aneurism.

"Shut up bitches..." I mumbled under my breath as I drew... I was currently concentrating on his abs when I felt the teacher walk up behind me.

"Hi, lovely work..." she said waiting for me to introduce myself.

"Rose, Rose Hathaway." I said turning to look at her.

"Well Rose, you have quite the eye for detail, but why start there?" She asked seriously. I quickly turned back to my drawing but I caught the smiling God in my peripheral vision.

"I have no idea." I said uncomfortably. "Sometimes my hands and eyes have minds of their own." My comment seemed to amuse 'Achilles' to the point of him producing a snort of laughter before his face quickly fell into its previously stoic position._ Oh kill me now... _

"Well, if you put that much detail into _that_ part of his body, I can't wait till I see what you produce with the top half." I turned my head back to her incredulously and saw her bite back a grin as she turned away from me.

I was praying for the earth to open up right under my chair, my heart was thumping in embarrassment as soft laughter was heard all around me.

"You guys are doing to die for bringing me here, you know this right." I growled under my breath. This only produced more soft laughter from my friends. I actually started to wonder if they'd set this night up just for the pleasure of seeing me squirm. I mean... it can't be a coincidence that _he, _a man that is 'outwardly' my _every _fantasy, just happens to walk in here tonight, he must be gay... I took a deep breath and squared my shoulders before starting to draw again.

Over the next two hours, 'Achilles' never looked away from my eyes, except for the time that Mrs Whatserface brought some water over for him to drink.

"Alright everyone, that concludes this week's class." Whatserface said as she stood beside where the object of my desire was lying. "I know some of you haven't finished, so Dimitri here will be returning next week. If we have time then, we will do a different pose." As she continued to speak, the guy I now knew as Dimitri stood up and let the sheet drop from his lap. I know it would have been appropriate to look away, but gees... I'd just spent the last two and a half hours taking in every inch of his body; there was _nothing_ that I hadn't already seen. He reached for the robe on the floor and started to put it on... _damn!_

"Are you going to pack up Rose or are you going to stare a little longer?" Mia asked me.

"I thought I'd stare a little longer if that's alright with you."

When Dimitri looked up at me after tying the robes belt around his middle, our eyes locked again and he smiled and winked before turning around and going back to the door he came through at the beginning of the class.

"I've died and gone to heaven..." I said to myself. "And I have a picture to take with me."

"Mia, that's really good, though I'd like to see a little more definition between intensities of the charcoal." Mrs Whatserface said.

"Do you always draw like this Rose?" She asked me.

"With graphite?" I asked not sure what she meant.

"No, super realism."

"No, not always but it is my preferred drawing method. Abstract is hard for me."

"Your shading is perfect, the subtle differences here and here," she motioned to his chest and the background shading I'd done. "...are brilliant. Can you do this with paints?"

"Yeah, I can."

"I'd like to see you try that next week if you could. What do you prefer to use?"

"Anything really, though I suppose I use oils more than anything else."

"Okay, that's great." She smiled. "Sorry about before, I just thought you looked a little too serious." _Gee thanks! _

"No worries."

"Okay, see you next week." She said before moving on to Lissa.

"Will there be a next week, Rose?" Mia asked.

"Shut up Mia." I said as I packed up.

**9:15pm**

"You guys are so dead when we get home." I said as we walked out of the classroom.

"I've never seen you squirm so much in all my life Rose," Liss said through her giggles. "I was afraid that you'd slip of your chair if you got any hotter under the collar."

"Oh gross!" Mia whined. "Although, I don't think the attraction was only one sided."

"I know, right!"

"Hello! I'm right here bitches..."

"Don't tell me you didn't notice him staring at you all night Rose." Liss said.

"Of course he was Liss, that's how he was posed. If you'd been sitting where I was, he would have been looking at you all night instead."

"Ah huh, sure..."

I rolled my eyes and sighed in resignation as we walked out of the building into the warm summer night.

"I can't believe you didn't even try to get his number Rose." Mia commented.

"Ah... leering... objectifying... remember those words at all?"

"That was only for what happens _inside_ the classroom Rose..."

"Rose!" Someone called out behind us.

"Oh crap!" I said as my friends laughed, I knew that voice.

"We'll just be over at the car..."

"Don't you dare." I hissed as I grabbed at them. It didn't do much good though; they twisted out of my grip and started running over to the car.

_Think calm thoughts Rose; don't think about him naked... _I thought as I turned to face him.

"I didn't know you knew my name." I said as he got closer.

"Oh, I heard it a few times in class."

"Right." I said biting my lip and looking at the ground.

"I was wondering if..." I looked up to see that he was now a lot closer than before and _shit he's big! _"...you'd like to go out for a coffee or something."

Being this close to him allowed me to be enveloped in his scent and it was just as disarming as his appearance.

"Tonight?"

"Yeah, if you'd like, or we could make it another time..."

_Coffee... that's not dangerous. _"Sure, now sounds good." My mouth blurted out before my brain could stop it. His smile was infectious and glorious. "I'll just let my friends know..." I said pointing over my shoulder while keeping my eyes on his. When he looked behind me and started to laugh, I quickly spun around to see my so called 'friends' driving away while laughing and waving out their windows. "I'm going to kill them." I said between clenched teeth.

"Lucky I'm a gentleman." Dimitri said behind me.

"That remains to be seen." I said as I turned to face him.

"Come on," he said while chuckling to himself. "I know a place with the best coffee in town."

"Oh really, and where's that?"

"You'll see." He nodded his head towards a big black Hummer a short distance away from us. "By the way, my name is Dimitri Belikov."

"I know, well your first name anyway..." After depositing my art bag onto the back seat of his truck, I climbed into the front seat.

"How long have you been doing... that?" I asked, my nerves apparent in my voice. Luckily he knew what I meant.

"I've only done this a few times; Alberta was my teacher two years ago."

"Isn't that a little odd, stripping off in front of an old teacher?"

"The first time it was, but I'm not all that shy about showing myself off."

_Good to know... _I thought as I turned my flaming cheeks to my window.

"I saw your work before I left, you're really good." He said bringing my attention back to him.

"Thanks, it helps to have good subject matter though." _Oh God... did I really just call him 'subject matter'? _By his laugh, I was pretty sure I did. "Sorry..."

"That's okay. How long have you been able to draw like that?"

"As long as I can remember. I once did a painting on an old piece of ply in my father's garage when I was ten. I used the grains of the wood to form the subject matter, which was a bird funnily enough. I used a knot in the wood as its eye and the rest just flowed from there."

"They must have been proud to see your talent at such an early age."

"Yes and no... My mother wasn't too pleased that I used her expensive pearl based paints that she had for her ceramic figurines she was in the middle of creating."

"No, I wouldn't think she would have been." The conversation stalled for a minute, but it wasn't uncomfortable... unless you factor in the fact that my heart rate still hadn't dropped since my eye first locked with his earlier on in the night. "Here we are."

I looked out and was a little confused... "The best coffee around is... where exactly?"

"Upstairs..." _Oh... _

Time officially stopped! He watched me as I got his meaning and made my decision._ Do I...don't I? God I'm horny! _

"Lead the way."

His smile was stunning and did wonderful things to my girly bits... We both reached for the handles of our doors at the same time, but he'd somehow made his way to my door before I managed to get out. "Let me help you." He said holding his hand out to me. The instant our hands touched, I got a tingly sensation run up my arm, like a low voltage electrical pulse. My dirty mind wondered if that pulse would be felt elsewhere.

After getting out of the truck, he didn't let go of my hand but he proceeded to lead me into the building in front of us.

"So, Russian huh?"

"Yeah, but I've been here since I was five."

"Always in Washington?"

"No, um... promise you won't laugh..."

"Okay..."

"We lived in Moscow, Idaho."

After I reigned in a little snort of amusement, I put on my serious face. "Was that intentional?"

"My father's idea of 'easing into' America."

By now we'd reached the elevator in the foyer of his building. As the doors opened, butterflies erupted in my stomach... I didn't know this guy from Adam... why in the hell was I going up to his apartment? An image of his glorious naked body draped on the leather sofa emerged from my memory banks and propelled me forward. He walked in behind me and then reached around me to push the '10' button. Trying to think of what the building looked like from the outside, I realised that he must live on the top floor...

The ride up was silent but our eyes locked in the mirrored doors of the elevator. His finely sculptured, enormous body was as close as he could get without actually touching me and every now and then, small grins would pull at our mouths. The doors opened and I felt his hand touch the small of my back before leading me towards a door on the right.

"How do you take your coffee?" He asked as he put the key into the lock.

"Milk and two..." I said as the door swung open. I walked forward a couple of steps into the darkened apartment and then heard the door shut behind me... The lights didn't go on. I swallowed as I felt fingers touch my shoulders... _Maybe coffee comes later... _I thought while trying to bite the smile from my lips...

"You can say no..." His deep voice said at my ear. "I wasn't lying about the coffee." The heat that coursed through my veins had me turning around to face him.

"Turn on the lights." I said softly. I felt him move away slightly and then the light was on making me blink a few times as my eye adjusted. There was no way I wanted to not see him in all of his glory. I reached up with my right hand and wrapped my hand around the tie that held his hair back. I slowly pulled it away and watched as his hair fell around his stunning face.

"You are so beautiful." He said as his eyes fell to my lips. That's all it took... The hand at the base of his neck pulled him down to me, crushing my lips against his. His arms wrapped around my body and lifted me off the ground. I kicked off my shoes as my legs wrapped themselves around his waist as we continued to try and devour each other. "Are you sure?" He asked as he pulled away from me.

"Yes... but I still hold you to that coffee..." I said smiling. His answering chuckle was something that I wanted to hear more of, but not just yet... there were other sounds I was more hoping to hear for the next hour or two if I was lucky. God, I hope I was lucky... He brought his mouth back to mine; licking along my lips before making his way along my jaw and down my neck. My skin lit on fire with each kiss and prickled as his hands moved under my shirt.

Within seconds both of our shirts had disappeared and I was busy memorising the chest that had captivated me not too long ago as his hands reached around behind me to undo my bra. "At the front..." I said before latching my mouth to his neck.

"Oh God... Best invention ever!" He said as he pushed me against a wall. Looking into his lust hooded eyes as he brought his hands slowly around to the front of my chest, was nearly enough to melt the rest of my clothes right of my body. The clasp popped open easily and he tore his eyes away from mine to look at what he'd exposed. "Exquisite..." he whispered. He slipped his hands under my arms and lifted me higher, bringing my chest to his eye level... _God, he's strong... _

"Oh... God..." I murmured breathlessly as his tongue came out to flick my hardened left nipple. Laying my head against the wall and rolling my eyes back into my head, I fell into the sensations as he took me into his mouth. He didn't stay for too long before releasing me and attending to the other side.

"Mmmm, divine... I can't wait to taste elsewhere." He said as he lowered me back down to eye level, his hips keeping in place against the wall and palmed a breast in each large hand...

_Me too..._

"So soft..."

I was officially a mass of clay just waiting to be shaped by his skilful hands; hands that extended into long fingers... I pulled his mouth back to mine and moaned as our tongues came together in their own mating dance. At this point, I doubted we could have been stopped even with a fire-hose.

Through frenzied kisses and touches we soon made our way into his bedroom where he placed me onto my feet. He reached up and took my face in his hands and smiled. "I want to savour every second."

He manoeuvred me around to stand in between his legs as he sat on the edge of the bed. His eyes followed his hands as they traced their way down my neck to my chest. I thought my legs were going to collapse as they turned to jelly when his fingertips tickled their way around the outside edges of my breasts before he took their weight into the palms of his hands. I weaved my fingers into his hair as his thumbs came out and swiped across my hardened nipples before once again taking me into his hot mouth. The sounds and sensations of him lapping against my skin almost made me cum then and there... As his mouth took care of one, his hand took care of the other, his spare hand though... well it was free to go where it pleased.

I felt him gently make his way down my flat stomach and tickle along the waist of my low cut jeans; the sensation making my stomach twitch. _God he was good at this..._

I felt the button of my jeans pop open and then the slow decent of the zip and at this point, I was pretty sure that if he asked me to jump into a pit of snakes with him, I would have... The hand that was currently kneading my left breast made its way to my hip and joined its partner in crime in divesting me of my jeans... When they went down as far as he could get them, he pulled away from me and looking up into my eyes. They looked as though they were on fire. His hands moved up the backs of my legs and pulled against my knees; making me lift them off the ground. One foot after the other released from my denims as his eyes drifted downwards...

_Thank God I chose the lacy number..._

Dimitri leant forward and kissed his way around my stomach, only stopping to dip the tip of his tongue into my navel. My hands made their way to his shoulders, making him look up at me. I couldn't stop bending forward to kiss his luscious lips. I felt him grab onto my panties and slowly slip them down my legs. He never broke the kiss as his hands came up the inside of my legs but before he reached the part of my body that was literally pulsing with need, he grabbed hold of my thighs and made me open them up to him.

He reached up with one hand and weaved it into the hair at the back of my neck, keeping me firmly attached to his mouth. I whimpered out loud as he finally cupped his hand over my sex. My body erupted in goosebumps as his finger traced the opening between my legs with the softest of touches. I was quickly losing coherent thought as he neared my entrance... "So wet..." he whispered into my mouth.

Then three things happened at once... he tilted his head to the other side and pushed his tongue hungrily into my mouth at the same time he pushed two of his _very_ talented and _very_ long fingers into me; pressing into a spot that I never thought was in me. That action had me spiralling into my first orgasm for the night.

"Oh Fuck..." I half moaned, half yelled into his mouth. I squeezed my eyes shut as my body erupted and clamped down around his fingers. My breathing came out in short bursts as I tried to stay upright. As I felt myself slowly come back to the here and now, Dimitri stood up from the bed and lifted me into his arms.

"That's one..." he said with a smile.

"Oh, good Lord..."

"You have no idea..." he said chuckling. He knelt down into the bed and positioned me on my back in the middle before moving up and over me. "You are the most stunning woman I've ever laid eyes on and I'm going to do things to your body tonight that will have you forget everyone else's name but mine..."

_Go right ahead... Give it your best shot. _"A little confident aren't you?"

"No."

_GAH! _

With that declaration, he went to work on my neck again, licking and sucking and kissing... Slowly, torturously, he made his way down my body. It was a little uneven considering he still had his jeans on, but I was putty in his hands and I couldn't string two words together at that point. The further down he went, the more my breathing increased, I was so strung out right now, I was no better than a junkie waiting for a hit.

One at a time, he lifted my legs, and then he pushed on my knees until they were nearly to my chest. "Hold your knees." He commanded. I could feel the blush rise from my chest to my face but the anticipation of what he was going to do to me next overpowered any embarrassment I felt. "Open your eyes... Don't look away."

His voice was like liquid chocolate wrapped in silk; the sexiest voice he'd used yet. _Oh God... _When our eyes met, he smiled and licked his lips, rendering my brain dumb. I nearly let go of my knees. "Don't let go..." he said.

He lowered himself down between my legs and while he kept his eyes locked with mine, he brought his tongue out to touch me, taste me... My gasp and whimper made his eyes smile. Not only was he a master with his fingers but also with his tongue. I tried my best to keep my eyes open as he laved his tongue against my body but with each stroke, with each thrust; but my eyes just kept rolling back in my head. Before I knew what was happening, he pushed one of those magical fingers inside, then a few seconds later... another. Whatever he did next sent me flying once again... But before I had even begun to come back to reality, he'd removed my hands from my knees and had made his way up the bed and positioned himself at my entrance.

"That's two..." he whispered as he pushed his massive cock into me. I didn't even realise he'd taken his jeans off...

"OH!..." I yelled out as he let out a deep growl of pleasure. At this point, I had no idea which way was up, down, left, right... my head was spinning in an endless cycle of orgasms. He covered my mouth with his and licked my lips apart before enticing my tongue out to play with his. I'd never tasted myself on another person before but I found the experience rather erotic. "Oh God!" I breathed as I gripped my fingers tightly into his hair and thrust my tongue into his mouth.

He moaned and groaned in ecstasy as he pushed into me harder and harder with each thrust of his hips. He reached down and grabbed my left leg, pulling it up and over his shoulder. The change in position made him hit deeper than he'd just been.

"Holy shit! Oh... yes, right there... Oh fuck!" I mumbled over and over.

"That's not what I want to hear Rose and I'm not going to stop until I hear it."

_Oh you've got to be kidding me... Like that threat's going to make me say it..._

"I know what you're thinking and let me just say that I've practiced tantric sex for a number of years now... I can go for hours and hours..."

"Holy Fuck!"

"You'd better believe it." He said and he grabbed both of my hands and held them together above my head with one of his hands. "And if I tie you up... I can have my way with you until you go mad with desire..."

"Oh stop talking and prove it!" I half yelled, half laughed...

"Your wish is my command, Mistress..."

For the next two hours, he brought me to the brink of orgasm over and over again until I couldn't take it any longer and yelled out his name in a cry of desperation. Then he gave me two more orgasms before he allowed himself his own release. I know there has never been, nor will there ever be another time in my life when I would feel so thoroughly shagged, in the literal sense or not.

I layed on the bed unmoving; a soft moan emanating from me with the biggest shit eating grin I've ever possessed on my face... I'd died and gone to heaven...and the being lying beside me was God himself, because only God could be this friggin perfect.

"I'm gathering by the look on your face, that you've enjoyed your time with me tonight."

I couldn't speak, so I just nodded my head slowly. He softly laughed as he moved closer to my side.

"I must admit, it's been quite some time since I've enjoyed myself so much. I think we should do this again... soon."

"You can't be serious..." I said turning my face towards him. "I can barely move, let alone do that again. I don't know how I'm going to leave here tonight."

"Then don't..."

_That's a possibility I suppose... _

"How are you able to move after everything you've just done?"

"These abs aren't just for show you know." He said through his soft laughter. He reached up and wiped the errant few pieces of hair away from my sweaty face. "Stick with me and you'll have abs of steel too."

"Huh, it's not my abs I'm worried about." I said wiggling my eyebrows.

"How about you call your friends and let them know you'll see them in the morning and I'll be back in a minute; I think I know just what you need."

"Oh, you've proven that many times already, I believe you."

With a smile on his face he turned away from me and swung his legs to the floor on his side of the bed... and that's when I saw it. He had a tattoo...

"How come I'm only just seeing that now?"

"What?"

"That..." I said pointing to his backside.

A mischievous grin spread across his face as he contemplated telling me about his tattoo. "Maybe one day I'll tell you all about it." With that, he walked out of the bedroom. I was so exhausted I didn't know if I would be able to move any time soon, and I was most certainly too tired to nag him into telling me more...

_Where in the hell is my phone? _I thought to myself as I layed in amongst the soft sheets and blankets.

"Need this?" Dimitri said from the doorway and holding up my phone.

"Yes..."

"You haven't moved, would you like me to dial for you too?"

"Oh, I think I can manage that small task."

Dimitri walked over to me smiling like the cat that ate the canary, while making no effort to hide the fact that he was looking at my naked body as if he was choosing which part to eat next. I think he was rather proud of the fact that he'd rendered my body inert; after all, I was still in the same position I'd been in for the last five minutes. "Be quick..." he said placing my phone in my hand and then leaving the room once more. I quickly rang Lissa who answered the phone in a voice thick with sleep.

"Nice to know you're sitting up worried for my safety bitch..." I said with just a hint of humour.

"Well I didn't think you'd be calling anytime tonight. Does that mean you struck out and are on your way home?"

"No, it means I needed a friggin rest for five minutes and I thought I'd use the time to let you know I won't be home until tomorrow..."

"You mean... you've been at it all this time?"

"Yes... he's... spoiled me for all other men. He practises tantric sex... and he's _really_ good at it too..." As tired as she was, she couldn't help but squeal in my ear. "I have to go, I think we're about to start round five... or is it six... oh hell, I've lost count. He may have to deliver me home in a shovel! I'll see you tomorrow."

"Ask him if he has a friend." She yelled as I hung up the phone. I let my eyes close as my hand fell back to the bed. I smiled when I felt a finger softly drag its way up my body.

"Ready..." he asked in his sexy, deep voice. I opened my eyes to see him

"That depends on what you've got in store for me." With only a smile as an answer, he bent down and picked me up in his arms. It didn't escape my notice that he was standing before me in all of his unclothed glory... and he was most definitely _glorious_! A minute later he walked me into the bathroom which was like no other bathroom I'd ever been into before. It was massive! Floor to ceiling white tiles that had a winding ribbon of mosaic tiles that snaked their way around the room at head height; all in pink pearl and different shades of reds and burgundy; like a ribbon of blood. To the far corner of the right of the room sat a huge Jacuzzi which was currently bubbling away with a dozen tea-light candles around the edge. But I couldn't help but wonder about the oddly shaped leather lounge that sat in the centre of the large bathroom.

"That's an interesting piece of furniture." I commented. It was blood red and shaped in a wave design that seemed to mirror the tiles on the walls.

"Yes... it is. Maybe I'll introduce you to its uses before you leave. But before that, I thought you might enjoy this."

"I think you might be right."

I thought he was going to put me down, but he didn't. With me still cradled in his strong arms, he slowly walked up the three small steps that took us up to the edge of the Jacuzzi and then he stepped in and lowered us both into the bubbling water.

Dimitri positioned himself against the edge with me on his lap. "Having fun?" He asked.

"Like I've never had before."

"Well, that's good to know."

"I'll tell you what I do know... it's going to be awfully hard to paint you next week now; it was hard enough tonight, I'm sure you noticed the effect you were having on me."

"Oh, just a little, but I wouldn't worry about next week just now, how about we keep our minds on the here and now." He distracted me once again by running his nose up my neck and behind my ear... It's like he just flicked a switch and turned me on; a switch I didn't even know was wired into my body, how the hell he found it so fast is beyond me. But as he did before, he brought me to the edge and then stopped.

"You're so mean..." I whined in protest.

"You say that now but you know the best is yet to come." He turned me around so that my back was flush against his chest and I was sitting in between his legs. "Close your eyes."

I did as I was told because yes... I knew the best was yet to come... and cum I did – two more times before he finally let me go to sleep. This God amongst men was insatiable and I loved every second of it.

The next morning I surfaced from the fog of sex, sleep and the best dreams I'd ever had with a smile on my face. I felt something tickle my side and I opened my eyes to see the dreams really were real. He was even more stunning in the light of the morning sun.

"Good morning, how did you sleep?" he asked with a soft smile on his lips.

"Wonderfully." I said as I exhaled a large yet contented sigh. "Though I must say that I'm a little hesitant to move just yet, I'm afraid of what's going to hurt."

He laughed freely as his fingers kept up their exploration of my naked body. With the way he seemed to be unable to keep his hands off me, anyone would think that he'd never touched me before whereas in actual fact; he'd touched me in places that had never been touched before... and God help me, but I wanted them touched again.

"I could always give you a massage if you want."

_Mmm, yes please... _"You're full of surprises, aren't you?"

"Oh, I have only just skimmed the surface of my bag of tricks; it's up to you if you want to see what else I'm capable of."

_I'm never going to leave... _

"About that red wavy lounge in the bathroom... You said you'd show me its uses before I left."

"How about we save that for next time... I think I've put your body through enough for 24 hours."

_Next time... I like the sound of that. _What I didn't like to think about though was the fact that if that chair was in there to have fun on, how many people were currently having fun on it.

"What's on your mind Rose?" I turned my head around to look at him with confused eyes; how did he know that I was trying to wrap my head around his... toys. "I learnt a lot about you and your body last night Rose, I can tell you're thinking way too hard about something."

I didn't know if I should tell him or not... Would he think me clingy?

"I know I probably should have asked you this last night, but... is there... anyone else... in your life I mean?"

"No, there is no-one else in my life. I may follow a way of life that most people associate with orgies and promiscuity but I'm a firm believer in monogamy. Tantra is not only about sex but about connecting with another person on a much deeper level through every facet of life; sex is just one part of it."

_Oh, he's too good to be true. If we hadn't done all the things we did last night, I'd say he was gay... Surely no heterosexual guy is this in touch with his feelings... especially not one that looks like Dimitri._

After our relaxing spa bath, we finally dressed and ate breakfast, my brain constantly on how that chair could be so much fun. Then he drove me to the apartment that I shared with my two best friends. I desperately wanted to see him again and soon, but I didn't want to come across as clingy. So I said goodbye after a lingering, sizzling kiss and jumped out of his truck.

"So, if I don't see you before, I'll see you again next Friday night." I said standing at his open window.

"I'd definitely like to see you again before then Rose. How about I meet you and your friends for coffee..." he said smiling.

"Coffee...? I think 'coffee' is the last thing you'll be sharing with my friends Mr Belikov."

I smiled wide as I listened to him laughing.

"I was thinking more along the lines of the _second_ best coffee around, you know, the stuff they serve at Starbucks. The _best_ is only found at my place and I reserve the _best_ for the best."

Nodding and biting my bottom lip, I turned and started to walk towards my building.

"Oh Rose, I forgot to give you something." He said calling me back to him.

"And what was that?" He didn't answer me with words, just a smile and a wiggling finger that pulled at an invisible string that connected my body to his will... I moved closer and closer to him until I had my head inside his window. His hands gently held either side of my face and his lips formed an inescapable barrier around our hungry tongues. I had to pull back slightly before I suffocated and that wouldn't do as I still had to experience the wonders of the red wavy chair in his bathroom... I'd made a vow not to die before finding out its secrets.

"I'll be back in three hours." He said against my lips. "Now go before I drag you back to my place and render your legs useless again."

_Oh God help me... _I thought as I shamelessly whimpered into his mouth.

Walking back into my building, I smiled at the thought that from now on, my life would never be the same... first up, _he _said 'next time'... Then I suppose I had to thank my two best friends for setting the wheels in motion for the best sex I'd ever had in my life and would hopefully experience on a regular basis. I knew the smile that was now plastered across my face would be there for quite some time yet...

Going up in the elevator to my floor, I wondered if I could possibly merge my now _two_ favourite things in the world... drawing and tantric sex!

At least now I knew someone who might like to explore the possibilities...


	2. Chapter 2 Learning Fast

**Well... What can I say but... WOW! The response I got from you guys was more than I thought I'd ever get. So thank you all so very much.  
>Here's the next chapter, in what will be a short story... (roughly 16 more chapters) This story will have a plot but this chapter had to be told for the rest of the story to make sense...<strong>

**So again... Thanks guys and I hope you like this chapter as much as my beta did! LOLOLOLOL!**

**Sandy**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

As it turned out, Lissa and Mia couldn't make it for coffee. Apparently their mother had called them early that morning and asked them to come to the house to discuss their father's up-coming fiftieth birthday celebrations.

_Damn! _I thought sarcastically.

"Soooo," Mia drawled as she and Lissa sprawled on my bed watching me get ready. "Fill us in and _don't _leave _any_thing out..."

"Anything?" I asked smiling as I slathered my lashes with mascara in my bedroom mirror.

"Anything..." the both repeated at the same time.

Rolling my eyes, I continued putting my eyes on. "Pervs... Well, I don't know how much I can tell you really, you've seen just as much of him as I have."

"Exactly, and a man that has _that _particular appendage in his arsenal must know how to use it."

"Lissa!" I said incredulously. "You've been hanging around your sister too long."

"Well, come on Rose, he's _huge! _God, I half expect you to tell me that you gagged on it as he screwed your brains out."

"Oh _FUCK_!" I yelled after I poked myself in the eye with the mascara wand. With one eye bulging in disbelief and one eye stinging like a bitch, I spun around to find Mia falling to the floor half laughing/half choking on her tongue! Lissa on the other hand sat stoically smirking on my bed waiting for an answer. All I could do was gape at her like a fish out of water.

"I can't... holy... shit... You just..." Mia choked on her laughter, still on the floor.

"You are _so_ crude sometimes Liss." I said while trying to stop from joining Mia on the floor. "I'm _never _letting you get within fifty feet of him; God only knows what you'll say to embarrass me."

"Get off the floor Mia." Liss said giggling. "You know as well as I do that that was _nothing_ compared to what you were saying about him last night."

"Oh God... I don't want to know." I said shaking my head as I walked out of my room. I had to go get a wet cloth to wipe the mascara that now painted my cheek. Coming back into my room, I stood at the doorway as I watched the two hyena's on my bed giggling and whispering like some conniving trouble makers...

"So you still haven't told us anything Rose." Mia said smirking when she saw me.

"I shouldn't after what your sister just said."

"But I tell _you _about _my_ love life..." Lissa said with raised eyebrows.

"Much to my horror..." I mumbled as I tried to fix up the 'mascara' fiasco. "What do you want to know?"

"Well, going by the shit eating grin that was plastered on your face when you walked in this morning, I'm gathering that he _does_ know how to use what God blessed him with."

"You could say that." I said smiling as my inner hussy started to play re-runs in my head.

"Don't make us resort to torture Rosemary Hathaway..." I turned around and found Lissa glaring at me. She got off the bed and stalked over to where I was leaning up against my chest of draws. "If pulling teeth is what you want, then pulling teeth is what you'll get! Spill!" I laughed out loudly as she pulled me back to my bed where I spent the next half hour glossing over what had happened last night.

When I told them about the chair in the bathroom, Mia squealed and jumped off the bed nearly giving Liss and me a heart attack.

"Be right back!" She yelled as she ran out of my bedroom. Liss shrugged, confused as much as I was but less than a minute later, the little blonde pocket rocket ran back into the room with her laptop in her hands. "Was it like this?" She said all excited.

She jumped on the bed and turned the screen to me.

"Yeah... that's it, what is it?" I asked.

"Oooo... wow... look at _that _photo Rose." Liss said leaning forward with her head to one side. "_That_ looks like it could be fun."

_Yes... it does! _I thought as I watched a slideshow of images detail the different positions that could be accomplished with this wonderful piece of furniture.

"Looks _very _interesting," Mia said with wide eyes. "...so... it's in his bathroom? Rose!"

"What?" I had on some level, heard Mia ask me a question but my attention was solely attuned to the photos on the computer... 'Interesting' was putting it lightly, _hot_ was more like it and I think I needed to stop looking at the pictures before I leaked all over my bed.

"Why do you think it's in his bathroom?" Mia asked again. A smile spread across my face with images of the many reasons why we would need easy access to water.

"Oh, _that's_ a dirty face." Lissa said giggling. "_Now_ I think we know why it's in the bathroom..."

"Get out you two! I have to face him in...an hour," I said checking my watch. "...and _this_ is not going to have me in the right frame of mind." I said indicating to the computer. One one hand I wanted to see more but on the other... It was just making me horny!

"Rose... I don't think it's your 'frame of mind' that he's all that interested in at the moment." Mia said giggling.

"OUT!"

"Come on... you told me that he'd rocked your world, how many times? You have _not_ given enough deets, not by a long shot..." Liss said.

"Yes I have and that's all I'm giving you. Vultures..."

"Rose, I haven't been laid for nearly a year... a _year _Rose!_ Man_, he was the worst lay of my life... it was the one I won the academy award for remember... _'Oh Aaron... oh yeah... mmm, that's the spot...'_" She said all in a dramatically nasally voice. "God, he was _dread_ful... I neeeeed to live vicariously through you... I neeeeed some visuals so that I can..."

"_Oh,_ don't go there..." I yelled throwing my hand over her mouth. I did _not _need to know what she visualised to get herself off with. "Here..." I said shoving the laptop into her hands, "...put this on slideshow and go at it all you like, better yet watch the videos, just leave me out of it..."

Obviously she liked that idea, the tantric chair website showed in great detail the varying positions that could be used on the chair; if I'd found this site two days ago, I probably would have had fun from the images myself, but just visualising the man I really _would_ be using one of these chairs with... Oh God... I need another shower!

=x=

I quickly stepped into my favourite pair of designer skinny jeans and silver racer-back top and then finished the ensemble off with my _genuine_ Christian Louboutin silver strappy sandals. Hey... I have rich friends who like to spoil me for my birthday! I chose the shirt because of its '_I'm lookin' for lovin'' _quality; it's completely lace back meant that I had to be braless... it didn't leave a lot to the imagination. With a quick glance in the mirror, I walked out.

"So Dimitri, I hear you have some interesting furniture at your place." I heard Lissa say as I reached halfway down the stairs from my bedroom. _That bitch... I'm gonna kill her!_

"I may have a piece or two that could be said were _interesting_; I don't know if we're thinking of the same piece or not." Dimitri said.

"It's red... and wavy... and in your bathroom." Mia joined in.

"Ah, that piece." I could hear the smile in his voice. "I don't know if 'interesting' is the right word, pleasurable would be more apt I think."

_Oh... kill me now... NO! Not yet..._ _Isn't the sign of insanity when you start talking to yourself – or is it only if you answer back? _

I shook my head to clear my inner ramblings and tried to pull myself together enough so that it didn't look like I'd heard any of the conversation going on in my living room between my two best friends and my... hmm, what is he... lover? Shag-hag? The 'benefit friend'? Well, whatever he is, I could feel my face was burning so I had to pull myself together before going out there.

_Think of not sexy things... think of not sexy things... Two old farts having sex... EEWWW! That did it..._

"Oh, you're here!" I said with as much nonchalance as I could muster as I walked into the room. He turned to face me and as soon as his eyes locked with mine, the blush I'd been stomping on flamed back with a vengeance.

"So it would seem." He said with a smile as his eyes looked me up and down. "You look... mouth watering." That sounded promising, but I couldn't move so he made his way slowly over to where I stood. Reaching out with one hand, he slowly ran the backs of his fingers down my cheek, only I could see that his eyes went further down. I watched as his eyes came back up and rested on my lips as his tongue came out and wet his own... I needed to get out of here before I scarred my friends for life...

"Starbucks?" I blurted out. He bent down and kissed my cheek before leaning in closer to my ear.

"Starbucks." He whispered.

_Oh Fuck! He just licked my ear... _

Pulling back slightly on the shaky side, I found myself staring into familiar deep brown eyes that shone with what can only be called 'wickedness'...

_I'm in so much trouble..._

"Breathe Rose..." Dimitri stood up to his full height and held out a hand. I smiled as I took his hand and was happy to find that the tingle from last night was still there and the way he looked at our joined hands – I would bet he felt it too. With a wink, he turned around and faced my 'little too eager' friends.

"We won't be home until tomorrow Rose," Mia said while trying not to smile, her sister had no such issues with showing her hilarity at my flustered appearance. "You know how Mother gets when there's a party to plan."

"I do..."

"Somehow I don't think she'll miss us..." Lissa giggled as she nudged Mia with her elbow.

"Bitches..." I mouthed to them along with my death stare. Unfortunately it had the opposite effect of what I'd wanted. Liss had to lean on the back of the lounge to stop from falling over as she cracked up at my expense.

"Nice to meet you Dimitri." Mia said. "Have fun you guys..."

"Oh, we will." Dimitri said firmly. Shaking my head, I led him smirking to the front door.

"Oh, Dimitri..." Lissa yelled out before we could escape. "I forgot to ask..." _Oh crap..._

"Ask what Lissa?"

"You don't know of any single guys that... _share_ your... interests?"

_Wasn't that earthquake due by now?_

"As a matter of fact I do. I'll have to introduce you to him."

"Two?" Mia said hopefully as she popped her head from around behind her sisters back.

"Argh... We're going now..." I yelled as I pulled Dimitri through the door and over to the elevator. "Oh God! I'm _so_ sorry."

I really was going to have to find somewhere to dump their bodies... Dimitri pulled me back into his chest and chuckled as we listened to the unbridled laughing and screaming behind the closed door to my apartment.

"They're not shy at all, are they?" He commented.

"No, not at all, especially when they see the vultures circling above my head. They just go straight in for the kill."

=x=

"I'll have a white chocolate mocha please." I ordered.

"And I'll have a caramel Macchiato thank you. I have a sweet tooth." Dimitri said in reply to my reaction to his choice of drink.

The girl at the counter didn't move straight away, she just kept staring. I almost laughed at her dreamy eyed look on her face as she gaped at the man beside me. I couldn't blame her really, but if she didn't stop drooling over him in the next three seconds, I think I may have to punch her into next week.

"I'd like my coffee today thanks..." I said snapping her out of her daze. _Bitch..._

"Oh, of course..." she said as her face flamed in embarrassment. She scuttled over to her right and got to work on our drinks.

Shifting to my side, Dimitri placed his hand on my lower back and told me to 'lead the way' with a sweep of his hand. I had a quick look around and saw a table in the far corner that looked private enough.

"I'm sensing a trend." I said as we walked through the cafe with our order number stand.

"Oh really, and what would that be?"

"Well from what I've seen since knowing you, you seem to have quite an effect on the female population of our species." We got to the table and Dimitri pulled the chair out for me. Apart from Miss Drool at the counter, every female in the cafe was currently having their own personal fantasies starring none other than the sex god who was now sitting in front of me.

"I haven't noticed."

"Ah-huh... Sure you haven't; you know exactly what effect you have of us females. So when you're not sitting nude for hours on end to a room filled with lust filled women and jealous men, what do you do?"

"Lust filled and jealous huh? Well..." he said just as Miss Drool came to the table with our order. "...when not posing nude or practising tantric sex, I'm at the hospital as a physiotherapist."

I think the poor girl just had a stroke... She almost dropped my coffee in my lap as her eyes were trying to look anywhere else but where they wanted to go... Mr Tantric Sex himself. He knew _exactly _what he was doing when he said what he did... I saw his eyes dart to her flaming face before trying to hide his smirk. I narrowed my eyes at him as I waited for her to collect herself and leave.

"Is... there anything... else I can... get you?" She squeaked.

"No thank you." I said quickly while not taking my eyes off his. I actually felt sorry for her as she scuttled back to the safety of the front counter. "That was very mean."

"But it was fun..." he said smiling. We talked a bit more about his work, how he helped people heal after accidents, he even asked me about what I was studying. But all I could think of was how his lips curved around the mug he held in his hands as he drank, how his tongue darted out to lick the creamy foam from his lips; I couldn't help but imagine cream elsewhere on his body... I was getting jealous of that bloody mug! "So, your friends won't be back tonight?" He said pulling me out of my daydream.

"No, they're helping their mother plan their father's upcoming birthday party. Why do you ask?"

"Want to catch an early dinner and movie?"

_Hmm... Dinner and movie... red wavy chair..._ _Whatever shall I choose?_

"Who says you have to choose?"

_Oh bloody hell... I said that out loud. _I closed my eyes and shook my head... where in the hell was the confident, sassy, feisty Rose? She could take on anyone and have them shaking in their boots in five minutes, this guy had me wrapped around his... finger... _Oh God there goes my cheeks again... _

I jumped when my hair was brushed back behind my ear. While my brain was busy going into nuclear meltdown, Dimitri had moved to the chair beside me. He leant in close and ran the tip of his nose up my neck before flicking the lobe of my ear with his tongue...

"I'd love to know what you're thinking about to cause such a reaction Rose because all _I_ can think about is _you_, blushing this color on my tantric chair..."

I shuddered as he dragged his finger down my neck and across the top of my chest.

"Tell me..." He said in a voice soft yet deep and commanding.

"Pretty much what you're thinking I'd say," I breathed out, "... I'm not sure about the blushing part but I was _definitely_ on that chair."

I let out a slight whimper as he pulled away from me, if he expected me to go to the movies now; in _this _condition... he had another thing coming!

"I _love_ this top Rose, it's very... informative."

_That's why I wore it lover... _I thought to myself smugly.

He stood up from his chair and held his hand out to me and once again, my body complied immediately, completely under his control. He led me silently to his truck, opening my door for me and then returning to his own side and sliding in beside me.

"Just a question...? Why on earth is there a _handlebar _on the roof of your car?" I asked before we left. He looked up above me and smirked.

"Hmm... well there are times when I '_drive'_ that you may need something to '_hang on'_ to..." _Huh? _His eyebrow rose suggestively when he saw my confusion...

"Ohhh..." I smiled once I got his meaning... "So, _this_ is for your version of 'bush bashing' then?"

He roared out laughing; a wonderful sound. "Oh, I'm going to enjoy getting to know you." And then he started the car and drove off in the opposite direction to his apartment. _Damn, damn, damn!_

Dinner was... dare I say, erotic. Watching Dimitri eat his oyster entrée was something I could watch again and again.

"You know why it's said that Oysters are aphrodisiacs Rose?" he asked from the other side of the booth.

"No, why?"

"Well, it's common for them to repeatedly change sex from male to female and back again, leading to claims that the oyster lets one experience the masculine and feminine sides of love. There's also the thought that oysters closely resemble the female... _sex_."

"You're just a wealth of knowledge, aren't you."

While waiting for the next course, we sipped on white wine and got to know more about each other while eye-fucking each other shamelessly. The shrimp linguini main was, I must say, amazing. I've never been more turned on watching someone suck pasta!

"I think you're sitting too far away Rose."

"Am I?"

With a soft laugh, he pushed his glass closer to me and slid around the half circle seat.

"That's better." He was now mere inches from me as his arm laid across the seating behind my shoulders. He bent forward and ran his nose up my neck before whispering in my ear. "Somehow I don't think the patrons here would appreciate hearing me describe what I had planned for the rest of our evening."

_Oh God... lace panties are definitely __**not **__absorbent enough when in close proximity to this man..._

"And what plans would they be?" I asked with my eyes closed.

"Well..." My skin prickled as his fingers softly ran up and down my arm. "First of all, I'm taking you to a movie... then, once I get you home I'm going to slowly remove every stitch of clothing you're wearing and then I'm going lick and kiss and suck my way down every inch of skin from your lips to your amazing breasts..." As he said that, his fingers traced the side of my breast... Breasts that were trying to cut their way through the flimsy material of my shirt.

_Oh Fuck! I'm gonna cum right here, right now... He needed to stop now before I slip right off the leather seats into a puddle of my own juices._

"I reiterate, you're so _mean!" _I murmured softly.

"Only if I have no plans to follow through..." He tilted his head to one side and licked his lips before continuing his step by step with the help of his fingers. "Then, I'm going to continue kissing and licking my way down to your stomach before going further down until I reach that pot of honey between your legs..."

I clenched my thighs together, trapping his hand as he ran his fingers down the seam of my jeans. "You need to stop... before I do something that will get us banned from this restaurant for the rest of our lives." I said panting.

"As you wish..." he said smirking. "But I have _so_ much more I need to tell you..." I needed to try and compose myself and I couldn't do that with him sitting so close.

"I'll be back in a minute... Don't... go anywhere."

"I'll be right here."

With a soft sigh, I slipped out of the booth and made my way to the ladies room. I pulled out a couple of Kleenex that were on a ledge under the mirrors and wet them, my face was flushed deep pink and my brow was slightly damp, unlike another part of my body that was dripping... He was literally sex on legs and I was in sooo much trouble! After my heart rate and breathing came back to normal and my skin tone returned to its normal slightly sun-kissed color, I made my way back outside. I don't know why I bothered really, seeing him sit at that booth just got my body back to its previous flustered state within seconds.

Sitting down, I saw that the dessert had already arrived. "Aren't you having any dessert?" I asked him.

"I most certainly will, it just won't be here." I couldn't help but smile. Dessert was an absolutely divine strawberry tiramisu; I wasn't aware it came in that flavour, but hey... who am I to argue, it was delicious... especially when fed by Dimitri's fingers.

"Cream can be so sensual don't you think Rose?" he said as he wiped some off my top lip. "Especially when seen on soft, pink lips... I wonder why that is?" I knew now that there was no movie in existence that I wanted to see, I was eager to get this show on the road because between the constant barrage of sexual innuendos and the smouldering looks that Dimitri was sending my way... I was about to explode.

Dimitri motioned for the waiter and asked for the check.

"Are you really going to make me sit through a movie?"

"Yes. Patience is a virtue Rose, possess it if you will." He whispered as the waiter came over with the receipt.

"Hmm... I know what I'd _rather_ be possessing right now _and_ I'm pretty sure that my 'virtue' is out the bloody window after what we did last night." I said brusquely. My irritation was stemming from the ever increasing throbbing desire between my legs, but was mellowed somewhat at the sound of his soft yet deep chuckle at my ear.

"Come on, the night is only young, and I _do _promise to make the wait worthwhile."

Oh man... What was I suppose to do when he makes promises like that? It wasn't long before the bill was paid and Dimitri's hand was on the small of my back as he guided me out of the restaurant. As we walked out the door, his hand slipped down to cup my behind. "I love how your ass looks in these jeans Rose... and those shoes... Mmm."

_Thank you Christian Louboutin!_

I really couldn't say what the movie we were watching was about; I know there was a guy in it... and a girl... and lots of cars, but all that really registered to me was the man on my left. Near the end of the movie, I felt Dimitri's right hand attach itself to the inside of my thigh. I turned to face him but he looked transfixed by the screen in front of him. Moments after I turned back to the screen, his hand moved slowly upwards... I couldn't help but shift in my seat, knowing what his objective was. From the corner of my eye, I saw a grin pull at his mouth as he kept his eyes looking forward.

He dragged his hand up my leg, over my stomach and my now _very _erect nipples then rested it behind my shoulders. Leaning into me, he put his left hand onto my thigh where his right had just been.

"I didn't finish telling you what I had planned for the rest of the night." He whispered in my ear. "Would you like me to finish?"

_Gulp... _"No..."

"Too bad..." he said against my neck. Then as he spoke, his hand crept upwards... "I'm going to feast on you until you're on the brink of your release and then I'll slowly slip my fingers inside your hot body where I'll find that _special _spot. I'll tease and tickle that spot as I take you sweet breast into my mouth."

_Oh holy hell... _"Do you want to get banned from the cinemas too?" I said breathlessly with my eyes shut tight.

"It wouldn't be the first time Rose..." he said chuckling under his breath. I spun my head around with my mouth open in shock... He was so close... _Ah screw it! _I was so horny, I couldn't control myself. In one second flat, I'd reached up and grabbed him around the back of his neck, attaching his mouth to mine hungrily and jumped out of my chair and into his lap.

"Ungh..." I moaned into his mouth. "You're killing me..."

His hands came up my sides; his thumbs brushing over my rock hard nipples as they went and came to rest on the sides of my face. He looked heatedly at me for a few seconds before kissing me hard again; his tongue making promises of what was to come...

He pulled away and smiled a smile that melted what was left of my panties off...

"Do you mind missing the end of the movie?"

"Huh! What movie...?" I growled. With that he pushed against my knees, effectively making me stand up and we quickly made our way out of the aisle of seats. We hadn't gone two steps down the centre aisle when a loud chorus of wolf whistles and cheering let out behind us. Apparently we'd put on quite the show...

=x=

I stood in the foyer of his building, every nerve ending buzzing with anticipation, waiting for the elevator to arrive; Dimitri stood right behind me with his hands on my hips. I smiled when the bell dinged and the doors opened. I walked in and turned to face the mirrored doors as Dimitri leant around me and pressed the no.10 button, my breath caught as I saw the hunger reflected in Dimitri's eyes as he stood up behind me. I watched him as he pulled my hair away from my neck, I watched as he leant forward and attached his mouth to my neck and I watched as his arms snaked around me, one going up my shirt, the other between my legs.

I turned to face him and wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him down to me, thrusting my tongue into his mouth as his hands cupped my backside. He lifted me up and wrapped my legs around his waist as I heard the bell chime signalling our arrival to his floor. The next thing I heard was the sound of a door shutting...

_Wow, a multi-tasking male... I didn't even hear him unlock the door!_ I opened my eyes enough to see that we were now in the dark of his apartment; one step closer to that chair, but then he turned, ramming my back hard against the wall. I pulled away from his lips panting, and was rewarded with the smiling face of the most beautiful man I'd ever seen; silhouetted by the soft glow of moonlight that had made its way this far into the room.

"Now... I have a few promises to fulfil." He said before sucking the skin of my neck into his hot mouth.

_Yes you do... _I thought to myself.

"There's roughly thirty different ways to use that chair Rose. How many do you want to try tonight?"

"All of them." I said breathlessly. The sound of his laughter did delightful things to my body; it was a sound that I wanted to hear over and over again. He pulled me away from the wall as he returned to my neck and before I knew it, he was pushing my legs down from his waist. Opening my eyes, I was just a little disappointed to find myself in his bedroom.

"First things first... I'm ready for my dessert." _Oh fuck yeah... _"But I require a slightly... _less_ formal appearance at _my_ dinner table; you're slightly overdressed."

I was so worked up by now that my body literally trembled in anticipation. He traced his fingers down my sides and then moved them under the hem of my shirt. He was true to his word... he lifted my shirt agonisingly slow upwards.

Soon it was off and he wrapped his strong arm around me. He moved me backwards as he held me off the floor, and then to my surprise... sat me down on the lower end of the red, wavy chair.

"You moved it..." I said grinning.

"I did, the bathroom isn't really the setting for what I want to do with you Rose. Lean back..."

I did as he told me and leant my bare back against the soft, red leather. He dropped to his knees at the low end and pulled my body towards him by my hips. He never took his eyes of mine as he slipped my shoes off and then his fingers popped the buttons of my jeans open, followed by my zipper... Then once more, he slowly pulled them down my legs leaving me in only my red lace panties.

"Hmm, these are nice..." He said swirling his finger over the lace. "But I think they'll look better on my floor." He looped his fingers into the elastic at my hips and pulled them down. "Mmm, I love a rich, _moist_ dessert." With that, he put his hands on the insides of my knees and pushed them further apart. I swallowed as I watched his tongue come out to wet his lips as he eyed his destination. Pulling me a little closer to him, he lent his body over me and touched his lips softly against mine. The kiss intensified quickly into wet, open mouthed kisses that soon travelled downwards along my jaw and neck; he was making good on his promise to cover me in kisses.

"Ungh..." I moaned as his tongue flicked my right nipple. My fingers were anchored in his hair as he pulled my soft flesh into his hot mouth. "Oh my God..." The sensations that his ministrations were bombarding me with after being teased to the brink of insanity were intense to say the least. I think he was more than eager to get on with it too because he didn't stay at my chest for very long.

With more determination than when he'd started, he quickly made his way downwards only stopping to swirl his tongue in my navel. My entire body responded to his touch. My eyes closed as I lost myself in the moment but they opened quickly when he pulled himself out of my reach. I was about to ask where he was going but was silenced by the look he gave as he lifted my left leg and started to kiss the inside of my ankle... _Oh... that's NOT where I want you to kiss me... _

My face must have mirrored my thoughts as he laughed silently to himself before putting my leg down. "You're impatient tonight."

"You bet your sweet ass I am... We have a lot to... accomplish, tonight."

His smiling eyes lingered on mine for a few seconds before wandering down my nakedness. "Mmm... dessert first though..." I cried out as he bent down between my legs and his tongue came into contact with my throbbing, oversensitive flesh. A few circular motions before probing his tongue inside had me writhing like a fish out of water, then he groaned in pleasure and the feeling that gave me was all it took; my hips bucked as my eyes slammed shut, flashes of white flickering behind my eyelids... "ARGH..." I half yelled, half laughed... My body shook as intense, hot pleasure pulsed throughout my body.

"HOLY FUCK!" I yelled as he quickly pushed at least two of his long, thick fingers inside of me. The sensation had me falling into my second orgasm before I'd even come down from my first... At this point my lady bits were on fire and so sensitive I was actually trying to move away from him. "Oh God, oh God, oh God..." I chanted in delirium... But I had no chance against his strength and he kept me firmly in place as he continued to lave his tongue against me.

"That's one position..." Dimitri said as he stood up from where he'd been kneeling. "Ready for number two...?"

_Oh... yes please..._I thought as I bit my lip and smiled.

With a smirk of his own, I watched as his hands came to the bottom of his shirt and quickly uncovered his amazing body that up until now had been hidden from my view; he deserved to have his likeness immortalised for all time in Madam Tussaud's wax museum or carved out of marble or something... He was magnificent. Then he pulled at his belt, releasing the clip but didn't pull it out of the belt-loops... no, he just went straight to the button at his waist.

I licked my lips as the zipper was lowered, tooth by tooth. With a quick push, his jeans fell down his muscular legs...

_Oh! He was commando all this time? Well shit... I'll have to remember that... _

My eyes took in the eighth wonder of the world, otherwise known as his 'joystick'... I'd always thought that penis's were a bit on the ugly side, but his was... awe inspiring... Dimitri stood straddled over the chair and then reached a hand out to me, effectively blocking my view and breaking the trance I was in. After placing my hand in his, he pulled me up and turned me around to face the high end of the chair. His hands came to my hips; thumbs pressed into my spine...

"Oh..." I moaned as he massaged my back. The higher he went, the further he pushed me forward until I was lying on my stomach with my hands reaching forward over the end of the chair.

"Hold on..." He whispered from behind me as he positioned himself. Then, in one swift movement, he was inside me, pumping slow and deep...

"Holy... shit... Oh... fu..." I panted.

"Oh... You feel... amazing... Oh..." He said in time with his thrusts. His right hand held me firmly at my hip as his left travelled up my back and wrapped around the back of my neck. "Mmm..." I felt him move downwards to cover my body with his own; the rocking of his hips never missing a beat, then the hand at my neck slipped down to cup my left breast. I don't know why, but I'd never felt anyone go so deep before. Last night was starting to look like a warm up...

Eight positions, five orgasms and two hours later, I was begging for a break. My mind was more jelly than my body... I never in a million years would ever have thought that someone could die from too many orgasms, but I felt as if I was just about to prove that theory wrong...

I lay on my side on the chair of wonders, totally and utterly spent, shagged, sexually sated... _and_ a little incoherent... "Don't tell me you're all done Rose." Dimitri said smiling as he crouched down in front of where I laid.

"Hmm... let me get back to you on that. You really are a God..." I said with a soft chuckle. "No human can do what you just did and look so totally unaffected."

"What makes you think I'm unaffected?" Something about the tone of his voice and the honesty in his eyes stilled my tongue from a smart-assed reply. "I don't think there'd be a man alive who wouldn't be affected by you Rose. Can you walk?"

"Give me a few minutes..." I said smiling.

But he didn't, he just stood up and scooped me into his arms before taking me into his bathroom once more; I hadn't been aware that he'd filled up the spa, maybe it was when I was in my _love drunk _stupor. We relaxed in the warm, jasmine scented water; my back against his chest, enjoying soft kisses and gentle caresses. We spoke of my up and coming classes, and he told me about how he came to choose the line of work he was in. Hearing how close he was to his mother, a nurse who was his life's inspiration warmed my heart; it was a relationship that I'd never had with my own mother. But when he told me that she was well aware of his... love of Tantra, I found myself a little embarrassed. I knew that if ever the day came that I met his mother, she would know _exactly _what we got up to.

When the water started to cool, he helped me out of the tub and dried me off. "I think there is something else I owe you." He said as he tied the satin strap around my now robed body.

"Is that all the rest I get?"

"Oh, I think I'll give you a little longer." He held a hand out to me and then led me out to his kitchen. I let out a silent snort of amusement as I eyed his massive coffee maker. He led me over to the black leather and steel stools that stood at the counter and kissed me slowly before walking around to the other side of the white stone bench top. It was wonderfully cold against my still hot skin.

"This is a stunning kitchen; I really hope that means you can cook." I asked as he turned to start up his coffee maker.

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, I am a woman of _many _talents but cooking _isn't _one of them I'm afraid. _My_ creative juices are limited strictly to the artistic field."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that Rose... I have it on verygood authority that your '_juices'_ are not limited to the classroom. Now, how do you take your coffee?"

I soon learnt that Dimitri said nothing he didn't mean. When he told me that the night was only young... he meant it. By the time we finally succumbed to slumber, he'd introduced me to seven more positions; three that benefitted him immensely.

=x=

I found myself squinting when I next awoke; the warmth of the sun on my face alerting me to the fact that this was the second time in a row that I'd woken in Dimitri's bed, and I'd only known him for two days... With my eyes yet to open, I went to lift my arms so that I could stretch but moaned at the pain that resulted from such a simple movement.

When I heard a deep rumble beside me, I opened my eyes; blinking a few times while they became accustomed to the brightness of the room.

"Good morning." Dimitri greeted me.

"Morning..." I greeted back in a croaky vioce. _What a sight to wake up to... _"Somehow I don't think I'll be able to apply the word 'good' in front of that greeting just yet though. I've only tried to move my arms so far and that was painful enough."

"Would you like a gentle massage to ease the pain away?"

"Will that involve me moving from my current position? Because if so, then I may have to turn you down..."

"Well, that's a first..." he said as his long fingers gently prodded their way up the sides of my spine as we layed face to face. "Do you trust me?"

"You're kidding right? I think my trust in you has been well and truly established, don't you think?"

"Implicitly." He pushed himself up into a kneeling position beside me and reached out for my arms. "Don't use your muscles, let _me_ move you." Slowly he moved my arms up beside my head at the same time as he rolled my body onto my stomach, then he resumed his gentle massage. He started at my feet and worked his way up.

As his talented fingers alternated between deep massaging and gentle caresses, I found myself moaning not only in pain but pleasure and body responded to him once more... _Traitorous bitch she is..._

I was surprised to find that my butt cheeks were as sore as they were. Honestly, I think I've found something that gives better results than Zumba! After twenty minutes of massage and five minutes of rest, I found myself back in the warmth of Dimitri's spa bath..._with _my morning coffee. A girl could get used to this!

"Your body isn't used to the exertion that we put it through last night; and the night before, that's why you're so sore this morning. I'll be back shortly, relax for a while and let the jets do their job." Dimitri stood up from where he sat on the side of the tub and leant forward to gently brush his lips against my own. He looked into my eyes for a few lingering seconds before he kissed my forehead before leaving me to soak.

Once the door shut softly behind him, I sighed and laid my head back against the built in head-rest. As relaxed as I was, my mind replayed my time with Dimitri over and over again. I found myself smiling at the memories that were now firmly ingrained into my brain. After a while I became aware that my largest grins were reserved for when my mind's eye was filled with the image of his stunning face... no, scratch that, his eyes...

Picturing them, my heart sped up as did my pulse, how was I going to function from now on in everyday life when all I could think of was Dimitri?

The answer to that question came soon enough... 'Not well"...

Over the next three days, we spoke on the phone when we could, texted suggestive messages either between classes or on lunch breaks in his case but we hadn't been together again since that second night and I found that the limited contact was just _not _enough... My body craved him as if it was hanging out for its next fix, but I had assignments to finish and I had to study for upcoming tests. I can't say how many times Lissa or Mia nudged me out of my daydreams while we sat in our lectures.

"When are you going to see Dimitri again?" Mia asked as we drove back to our apartment after the day was finished.

"I'm not sure really, we've both been really busy, why?"

"You need to get together; you're just about to burst Rose." Lissa said from the front passenger seat.

"I know right..." Mia said nodding her head in agreement.

"I am not." I was but I wasn't about to admit it to these two. "I've just... got a lot on my mind."

"Yeah, Dimitri _is_ a lot of man..." Liss said sarcastically.

"Quit it you two." I said while trying to keep the smile off my face. "I don't want to push anything; I don't know what he wants out of this... whatever it is we have going on."

"Have you asked him?"

"No, that would be 'pushing'... I'm leaving it up to him; if he wants to get together over this weekend then he'll call... I'm leaving the ball in his court for now."

"Oh, I see... Treat 'em mean, keep 'em keen..." Mia quoted.

"No!" _Maybe... No! _I just wanted to see how keen he was; I certainly wouldn't be mean about it. In fact I'm pretty sure that _I'd _be the keen one if he called. Walking into the apartment, my eyes went immediately to the answering machine. I smiled when I saw the little red light merrily blinking its little ass off...

"I'm pretty sure that that little light means that at least one of us is going to be busy this weekend..." Lissa said smugly. "... and I don't think it's going to be us Mia... "

"I think you're right Sis. Are you going to answer it Rose?"

I let out a huff instead of an actually answer and walked over to the little machine on the coffee table. My heart sped up exponentially as I got to the last few feet and when I heard his voice... I'm pretty sure it stopped.

_First message at... One...seventeen...pm._

_Friday... April... Twenty...fifth...2010_

_Hi Rose, It's Dimitri... I was wondering if you had any plans this weekend. I tried your cell but it must be turned off so I thought I'd call you at home. I'd planned on asking you this morning but I had to be in at work for an early appointment and this is the first chance I've had to call. Let me know, just call my cell phone. If I don't pick up, just leave a message. Alright... I'll hopefully see you later. Bye._

BEEP!

"Told ya..." I heard behind me. I turned to look over my shoulder and saw Mia smirking at me with her hands on her hips and Lissa laughing and shaking her head as she walked towards the staircase.

"Oh piss off you two... You're just jealous." I was smiling as I said it, so they knew I was only mucking with them...

"_That _is something I've _never _denied." Liss said as she climbed upwards. "Remind him when you see him that he said he had a friend..."

"I expect one too by the way... I'll be damned if I'm gonna be left out of all the fun." Mia said before following her sister upstairs.

I had a little laugh to myself before lifting up the cordless phone and dialling the number I now knew off by heart. It had been way too long; my body was yearning for him, yes... I won't even attempt to deny it, but it was more than that. I missed being in his presence, I needed to be near him. I may not have known him for very long, but what I _did _know was that after only two days with this man, I felt more than I'd ever felt for any other man in my life and the strange thing was, that it _wasn't _freaking the shit out of me...

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><p>Pictures for this story can be found at my photobucket page at this link... cut &amp; paste &amp; remove the spaces. If there are any 'Aussie slang' here you're unsure of, just ask and I'll let you know what I meant...<p>

http: / .com / albums/ff418/ kessafan / Achilles/


	3. Chapter 3 Pride

Hi Everyone, Yeah I know... late again! R/L sometimes gets in the way. I will do my very best to get the next FB chapter to you before my next operation which is scheduled for 7th June, but I'll have lots of time to sit and do nothing but write after I get home from hospital... so that's a plus! LOL  
>Anyway... The chapters of this story will follow a theme and they will alternate between Rose and Dimitri, so you know who's up next huh!<br>Thanks to my wonderful beta Deliciouse who helped me through a sticky spot, I couldn't get the conversation out of my head the way I wanted it... she came up with the words I wanted to say, so thank you my dear!

**Remember... this story is RATED M Every chapter will contain ADULT material and language.**

Till next time... Enjoy! Pics for this chapter is in my photobucket - link on my profile page.

* * *

><p><strong>Pride: The excessive belief in oneself and owns own abilities.<strong>

Chapter 3 – Pride

**RPOV**

"Hoooly shit..." I panted as I lay sweat and completely satiated on the black satin sheets on his bed. "I don't know... if I should be... incredibly grateful... or incredibly jealous." It was Sunday night and we'd been at it like rabbits all weekend; apart from when we needed to eat and pee. It seemed the more I got of him; the more I needed.

"Hmm, I'd go with grateful, but would you care to let me in on what you're thinking about?" Again, he was breathing relatively normal considering what we'd just done.

"Well..." I said as I took a calming breath and slowly rolled onto my side to face him. "On one hand, I'm extremely grateful that you know how to do what you do, but that leaves me with the knowledge that for you to be as good as you are, that you've done that before... _many _times before, and I'm sorry but the human in me is, I'm afraid to say, more than a little jealous of those who have experienced _you _before me."

He smiled a little smugly and licked his lips as his finger traced along my bottom lip. "Well you could always think of it like this... From the moment you've known me, I've brought you nothing but extreme pleasure." He said as his eyes followed his finger as it made its way down my neck and chest, circling each nipple before continuing down my stomach. "But the other women... they've had to put up with over confidence which produced lacklustre performances, frustrations and even premature ejaculation... They worked out all the kinks."

"That doesn't make me feel better." I grumbled childishly, I even couldn't help the pout that pulled at my lips. I don't know why I even brought it up; now I just feel worse than before...

"Maybe not, but I know what can..." With that one of his fingers slipped inside of me... My throbbing sex was still slick with our releases. My eyes rolled back in my head as his mouth came down and took my right nipple into him mouth. His tongue swirled around my sensitive bud, the movement mirroring what he was doing between my legs. How was it possible? He'd just given me three mind-blowing orgasms in the last half hour; how can he turn me on so easily yet again?

Eventually it came time to go home, back to reality.

=x=

"Well, it's good to see you're back to your normal, chipper self..." Lissa said smirking as I walked through the door of my apartment.

"You're just in time too... Pull up a beanbag." Mia said. By the looks of the boxes on the coffee table, pizza had just been delivered. Good thing too... I was ravenous! Dimitri had wanted to take me out for dinner before taking me home, but I said no... If it turned out anything like the last time he took me out, I'd never make it home. I just wanted to shower, throw on my PJ's and veg out in front of a movie.

"So, how many times this weekend Rose?" Lissa asked.

"None of your business, Miss Snoop Dog..." I said as I grabbed a slice of pizza and flopped down into the red velvet beanbag.

"Oh, more than she can remember." Mia whispered as she dug her elbow into her sister's side. She wasn't far wrong...

"You know Rose; I heard that you can actually wear it out..."

"Wear what out?"

"Your hooch."

"My _what?_" I said after nearly choking on my pepperoni...

"Your hooch..."

"Oh Liss... I tell you what, I'll let you decide if that's a possibility when Dimitri introduces you to his friend shall I?"

"Oww... So he _does _have a friend? What's his name? What's he look like? Is he just as good as Dimitri in the sack?"

_Redirection – SUCCESSFUL!_

"Whoa! First of all, yes he has a friend but I don't know any more than that. He just told me that he'd spoken to him and asked if he wanted to meet anyone."

"_And_... What else did he say?"

"Nothing... we were – busy!"

"Ah yes... busy!" She said wiggling her eyebrows.

_SHIT! _

=x=

**5:30pm**

"Come on Liss..." I yelled from the lounge room. I hadn't seen Dimitri today, we'd only been able to communicate by some really, really hot texts. I was bursting to see him.

"Rose, we don't have to leave for another fifteen minutes or so, calm down." Liss yelled from upstairs.

"Why the hurry anyway?" Mia asked as she walked down the last few steps. "Normally we're the ones hurrying _you_ to get ready."

"I just want to get there early, that's all."

"Ah huh..." Just then Liss appeared and I jumped up off the lounge chair and headed for the door. "Someone's a little antsy I think." Mia stage-whispered to her sister.

**5:56pm**

I smiled as we drove into the parking lot outside the art building. _He's here! _I gathered my things onto my lap and as soon as the car stopped moving, I was out the door!

"Where's the fire Rose?" Mia yelled out behind me.

"Between her legs..." Lissa said laughing.

I was too intent on my object of desire to reply. I pushed through the front doors and turned to my right and made my way down the hallway that lead to the massive room where the class was held. As I got to the end of the hall and lifted my hands to push the room door open, I heard voices behind me. The deep voice I knew very well...

I stopped and turned to look over my shoulder. I swallowed as my eyes landed on warm, chocolate brown ones that looked through a small glass pane in the door opposite. _That must be where he gets ready for class..._ I thought to myself. Just then the door opened and out walked Alberta.

"Alright then Dimitri, just work it out and let me know." She stopped for a second when she saw me standing in front of her. "Oh, hello Rose, you're early."

"Yeah, just thought I'd put my stuff inside and then wait around till everyone gets here, if that's alright." My eyes flickered behind her to where she still held the door open; Dimitri's eyes hungrily took in my appearance as he licked his lips.

"Oh, of course, just let yourself in. I'll just be in my office getting everything ready." With a quick nod, she walked off in the same direction that I'd just come from; letting the door go behind her, but it never shut. Turning back to the small glass paned door, I saw a _very_ calculating grin on a _very_ gorgeous face, I only started moving forward after I noticed a very long finger once again pulling on the invisible strings that tugged on my all too willing body.

"You look nice." He whispered as the door shut behind me.

"Thank you." I'd bought this top during the week with him in mind. The leopard print with peacock feather print brought together my two favourite things but what really made me buy it was the back... completely open; a real temptation for someone to slip their hands inside.

"You're early." He said smoothly as he made his way closer to me.

"Not as early as I wanted to be, I'm sure Liss was dawdling just to piss me off..." He snickered softly as he pulled my things out of my hand.

"You're a very distracting woman Rose, you know that?"

"I have no idea what you mean." I said as nonchalantly as I could.

"Hmm, does... _'My pussy needs a scratching post...' _mean anything to you at all?" He asked as he closed the distance between us.

"Mmm, nope, not really considering I don't have a cat." I said in a slightly flustered voice.

His eyes flicked down the front of my body before he spoke again. "Well _that's _not true; I know for a fact that you have a _very_ soft pussy that I love to pet..." I gasped as I felt his fingers glide up the inside of my thighs. "...over and over again." He said against my lips. He pushed against my mouth demandingly, deepening the kiss quickly as he pushed his tongue into my mouth as his hand cupped my sex. I moaned very unladylike into his mouth when I felt his fingers move the thin strap of my thong panties to one side and push into my throbbing centre.

"Oh... Rose, what on earth have you been doing to be this wet?" He asked as he pulled away from my mouth while swirling his fingers deep inside me.

"Just thinking about seeing you; that's all it takes." I panted.

He smiled before turning to face the door. He pulled his hand away from me and I groaned at the loss of him but that soon morphed into a groan of something else as I watched him lift his hand to his open mouth and suck on the fingers that he'd just pulled out of me. "Mmm... Delicious..."

_Oh fuck! _

"Come with me." He said winking at the same time he grabbed my hand; the double entendre of his words was not lost on me. He led me over to another door on the far side of the room, when he opened it; I saw that it was in fact a really big dressing room. The wall directly in front of me as I walked in was one big mirror, as were the walls on either side of me. A large padded seat sat in the corner to my right and a clothes rack stood to my left.

"So, this is where..." I didn't get anything else out before I was pushed back against the wall beside the doorway. I looked up to see dark, hungry eyes boring into mine.

"Your messages have kept me hard all day long." He said lowering his forehead to mine. He grabbed my hand and held it against the rather large boulder in the front of his denim jeans. "Not really what you want to be sporting when trying to work with a seventy-four year old woman recovering from hip surgery."

"Did I do that?" I smirked as I looked up under my eyebrows in the most innocently seductive way I could.

He didn't answer with words, his jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed a second before his lips came crashing down to mine. I quickly became aware of being lifted off the floor so I wrapped my legs around his waist as he ground his hips against me.

"You most certainly did. There's no way possible that I can go out there tonight..."

I gasped and pulled away from him in shock at his words... _No! He had to go out there; I'd been looking forward to this all day..._

"... like this. Unless you know of a way to._.. _remedy the situation?" _Oh yes! _I smiled as I somehow created enough space between us and reached down between my legs, quickly getting to work on the button of his jeans. I ripped the zipper down with the urgency the situation called for and pushed them down enough so that I could reach in and free him from his confines.

"Oh God..." I breathed as I looked down between us. "That's a nice scratching post you have there..." I said eliciting a deep growl from Mr Fuckawesomeness in front of me.

"Here pussy, pussy, pussy..." he whispered as he moved forward, attaching his mouth to my neck and plunging himself deep inside of me.

"HOLY FU..." I started to yell out. His lips crashed to mine before I could finish my not-so-conscious rambling.

"Shh... You don't want someone coming in to see what all the noise is, do you?" He said against my mouth as he pushed his rock hard wonder peen up into me over and over again; each time sending my eyes further and further back into my head. His right hand squeezed my breast as his fingers pinched and pulled at the pebbled tips. His left hand gripping my butt cheek as his long fingers occasionally pushed against places they'd never ventured before... Of all the times we'd been together, _nothing_ and I meant _nothing, _could come close to what we were doing right now. This normally seductive, gentle yet powerful lover had suddenly turned animalistic... and I absolutely _loved _it!

"Urgh... I love how you're so damn tight." I could feel the coil inside my belly tightening as each of his powerful thrusts and roaming fingers pushed me closer and closer to bliss; my hand that had found their way into his hair started to pull tighter and tighter as my toes started to curl. "Let it go baby... cum for me."

His hand left my breast and made its way downwards and as soon as his multitalented fingers pinched my clit, I exploded around him; he silenced my screams of ecstasy with his mouth. He pushed into me twice more before pumping out his own release where I took everything he had to give me. "Rozaaaa..."

Panting and throbbing with the most wonderful aftershocks, I opened my eyes to find myself staring into eyes that I'd quickly found myself getting more than a little attached to.

"Wow..." I said breathlessly.

"You're not wrong... You're amazing." He said smiling.

"This I already know... I'm good at everything I do."

I'm not sure how long we stayed locked together like that against the wall; hips and eyes... I doubt it was very long but time certainly seemed to stop... for me. Dimitri leant forward and softly pressed his lips against mine. I opened my lips slightly at the feel of his tongue and took his bottom lip into my mouth. He let out a soft moan as I felt him slip out from my body.

"If I don't leave now, I never will. You know I have a quick recovery time."

_Yes... I most certainly do. _

"And since when is that a bad thing?" I asked, totally blissed out.

"Since we both have an art class that we need to get to, one that the teacher knows we're both present for..."

_Damn!_

He moved away from the wall and gently placed my feet back on the floor. I watched as he pushed himself back into his jeans but not doing the zip back up. He placed a chaste kiss to my forehead then turned away and grabbed a small handtowel from a basket under the padded seat in the corner. I reached out to take it from him but he shook his head. Gently, he brought the towel up the inside of my legs; I whimpered a little as he touched my still _really _sensitive centre.

"Whoever does the washing around here is going to have one hell of a surprise, aren't they." I said a little embarrassed at the thought.

"I'm sure they've come across this type of thing before." He said chuckling softly. "Not because of me though..." he said when he saw my expression.

"Well that's good to know."

He went back over to the seat in the corner and placed the towel on the edge before reaching down to the hem of his shirt. I bit my lip as he revealed himself in all of his glory; my eyes taking in the feast that was his body. I had the sudden urge to sink my teeth into his amazingly sculptured pec muscle while twirling my tongue around his tight, pebbled nipple.

"Looking at me like that is going to get you into trouble Miss Hathaway."

"Promise..?" I couldn't help it... it just blurted out! But I was rewarded with one of his 'head thrown back' belly laughs.

"Oh yes... I most certainly do." With that he pushed his still unbuttoned jeans down to the floor. _Oh good Lord! _"Short recovery time, remember. Now you need to leave before Alberta comes looking for me and finds more than she bargained for."

Ripping my eyes away from my prize was harder than I thought possible... literally! "I think that will be the case whether I'm here or not. I just fixed that for you and now you've gone and wrecked all my good work... Lucky for you, I'm a perfectionist and never leave a job half done."

=x=

**6:25pm**

"Where in the hell have you been?" Lissa hissed at me as I sat down at my easel... finally.

"Do you really need to ask Sister? Look at her hair; it wasn't in _that _particular style when we arrived." Mia said laughing.

My eyebrows scrunched together as I reached up and ran my fingers through my locks in an effort to make sure everything was in place. Bitches... it wasn't _that _bad...

"You're just jealous."

"Ah _yeah!_" Liss said with a _'Duh' _look to her face... "A year, remember! Of course I'm friggin jealous. My hooch packed her bags six months ago in search of a better provider and all you've done is flaunt around everywhere with your sex smell and your sex hair... Bitch!"

_Sex hair? Cool... _I thought smugly.

"Sooo," Mia drawled. "I'm gathering that smile was put there by none other than the hunk of delectable man meat that's taken up permanent residence in your brain?"

"Maybe." I smirked at the recent memory.

Just then the door to our left opened up and in came our teacher.

"Good evening everyone. I'm glad to see you were all able to make it back tonight. First of all, just a reminder that we'll be finishing up on last week's drawing. I've had a look at where everyone's up to and half an hour should be all you'll need to complete what you've got. After that, we'll have our model partner up in a different pose."

_Hold the phone! _"Did she just say 'partner'?" I whispered to Lissa.

"Yup."

I wondered if Dimitri knew about this before because he said nothing to me about it.

"Miss Hathaway?" she called out before walking towards me. "I know that I said that I'd like to see you work with oils this week but I got to thinking and I want to see you go outside your comfort zone. As a super-realism artist, I know you have a certain standard you adhere to; your work is meticulous and beautiful but I'd like to see what you can do when you lean more to the impressionism style for the couple pose. It's your choice as to what medium you'd like to work with."

I groaned internally as I plastered a fake smile on my face. Not only at the thought of having to paint impressionism but also at the thought that someone was going to posing with my man... _Huh... 'My' man..._

"Okay everyone..." she said walking away from me. "Let's get this show on the road, remember you have half an hour to finish off last week's work."

The door to the left opened again and I couldn't help but grin. _God I love it when he wears his hair down like that... _My heart skipped as his searching eyes landed on mine before giving me a wink and making his way over to me. I glanced at Lissa who gave a small shrug; she was as confused as me.

"I just wanted to make sure I get myself in the same pose." He said as he leant in between me and the easel and studied my drawing. "And this is so... detailed." He turned his head and looked at me out of the corner of his eye before speaking only loud enough for me to hear. "Imagine what you could do now that you know me more intimately."

_Oh good Lord! _I hoped he brought his shovel with him tonight, 'cause he's gonna need it to pick my melted ass off the floor!

He gave a quick lopsided grin and then walked back over to the same wooden platform and backless lounge from last week. He fumbled with the tie at his waist as he walked away from where I sat with my friends and slipped it off his shoulders; the image went straight between my legs. As he got to the platform, it dropped to the floor at his feet. I couldn't help but voice my appreciation of the view in front of me, or should that be _moan_ my appreciation...

Dimitri looked back at me over his shoulder and smiled before getting into place.

"What...?" I said out loud to everyone who'd turned to look at me in various states of amusement. "I'm a female... _sue_ me!"

The room broke out in laughter and I tried to look as unaffected as possible but anyone who looked at my flaming cheeks could see that I was anything but unaffected... "That's enough now everyone." Alberta said smirking as she clapped her hands. "Let's get on with it shall we."

"Gees Liss," Mia said laughing along with her sister. "...it's awfully hot in here isn't it? Is there a fire close by? Oh no... Don't worry; it's just Rose's face!"

"Fuck you..." I said shaking my head and squaring my shoulders. "If you just had the flashback that I just had... you'd be moaning too."

That shut her up!

_Some_how I was able to get through the next half hour with_out _spontaneously combusting; images of what we'd been doing less than an hour ago had me blushing like a schoolyard virgin every time I'd look at him. I also learnt another thing about Dimitri on this particular night... he not only has superhuman control over his lower body, but also facial expressions. On his face, he wore the mask of the ultimate professional, staying stoic throughout all of my blushes, whispered promises, lip licks and bites. However, once Alberta called an end to that sitting... he dropped the mask and I saw the glint in his eye that told me that he'd been more affected by my teasing than I'd thought and I was now in an awful _lot _of trouble.

_Bring it on! _I thought as I wriggled in my seat. I'd now worked myself up to a state worse than when I'd arrived.

"Right... I hope everyone was able to complete their work, if not... too bad. I want everyone to change mediums for the remainder of the class. The change of position for the models will allow you all time to get your things together."

For the third time tonight, the door opened and my stomach dropped. Shit!

"Oh wow... she's pretty." Lissa said beside me.

"If you think so." I muttered.

The woman that walked through the door wasn't just pretty, she was fucking stunning... FHM, Penthouse, Playboy stunning... Tall, slender, silky black hair that hung to her waist and piercing blue eyes... that wasn't even taking into account the chest that, even under the robe, I could tell was impressive. I looked over to Dimitri, who was now back in his robe and found him _smirking! Friggin smirking... _at _her!_ I think I might have thrown up a bit in my mouth when she walked over to him and hugged him before laying a kiss on both cheeks like some Continental Hoochimama.

_Back off BITCH! _

"Rose..." I looked over to Lissa and saw that her eyebrows were nearly reaching her hairline. "Stop growling... It's unbecoming."

"Did you _see_ that?" I snidely whispered, ignoring her comment completely. My blood was beginning to boil in my veins.

"Yeah, so? They obviously know each other."

_Well that didn't make me feel any better._

"Don't worry Rose; _you're_ the one who came in here tonight with sex hair..." Mia said in a vain attempt to improve my mood. "Hey, do you need some more charcoal?"

"What?" I asked. Mia nodded down to my hands and this time I _was_ aware of the growl I let out. I grabbed my now ruined charcoal sticks and threw them into my bag; they'd been the unfortunate casualties to my dislike of the woman who was currently laughing it up with my man as they helped Alberta change the staging props. I took Mia's charcoal on the promise that they wouldn't suffer the same misfortune as mine had and the next five minutes I spent reign in my temper by telling myself that I had _nothing _to be jealous about.

Dimitri disrobed, only this time I couldn't watch, then Hoochimama dropped hers and I was pissed that she was as perfect underneath as I'd hoped she wasn't. As much as I tried, I know I did a piss-poor job of making myself look busy as they situated themselves on the wooden bench seat. I had no doubt that Dimitri was probably watching me, I just couldn't look at him... _them. _Together like that...

"Okay everyone, we have... just under an hour and a half left of tonight's session," Alberta said as she looked at the watch on her wrist. "...let's see how much we can get done. Don't worry if you don't finish, we'll just have Ms Ozera come back next week."

_Oh joy... Of course she could always meet with an unfortunate event before then and be unable to come back... That would be a shame... Wouldn't it?_

I could hear others begin their work and could no longer put off the inevitable; I finally looked up and had to bite my bottom lip at the sight in front of me. Dimitri sat on one end of the wooden bench seat with _Ms Ozone _or whatever the hell her name is, laid across his lap; her tits all up in his face... well, maybe not up in his face, but close enough. For the first time in my life, I wished that I was from Krypton so that I too could have the superpower of 'heat vision', then I'd burn the shit out of the hand that was currently gripping the top of Dimitri's arm.

I fed off my emotions as I started to draw and I internally scoffed at the thought that Alberta would be pleased with my angry strokes of charcoal... she wanted less 'perfection', well that's what she'd get! The more I drew, the angrier I got... I had to pull myself out of it, I wasn't _this_ person and what I was drawing was _crap! _

With a growl and a shake of my head, I reached up and tore the paper away from the backing board that rested on my easel; gaining the attention of most of the people around me. I saw Dimitri's head turn slightly from its position and look in my direction but I quickly looked away.

"Alberta?" I called out. Our teacher was standing with a student about four or five down from where I was sitting and she turned around to face me. I pointed to the door that led out of the room hoping she'd understand that I needed a bathroom break, when she nodded her head; I stood up and walked out.

=x=

"Idiot, idiot, idiot..." I berated myself as I stood at the sinks in the bathroom. I was better than this; I'm a smart, confident, sexy woman and a friggin brilliant artist to boot! And here I was, acting like some hormone ridden teenager instead of the mature adult I was supposed to be. It was obvious that they knew each other, but he'd also told me that he's a one woman man... in so many words. If he was with _her _then he wouldn't be with me... right? Just then the door opened and my best friend walked in with a hesitant smile on her face.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yeah... I'm just being..."

"Silly? Jealous? Childish? Unrea..."

"Yeah, yeah... all of the above." I said pushing my palm against my forehead. "I get it, I do. I've been in here telling myself the exact same things Liss. I can't help it. I've never felt..." _I don't exactly know what I felt really._

"You really like him, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do. It's just hard. If they weren't in the buff, it would be totally different, but they're not. Her tits are all..." I said flailing my arms up around my face... "...and she's all gorgeous and hot and his age..."

"Rose, I know I don't know him as well as you do, but to me Dimitri looks like the type of guy who would only be with the woman he _wants _to be with. If he wanted her, then he would be... but he's not."

She was right... of course. "I'm really stupid huh..."

"Just a little bit." She said smirking as she held her thumb and pointer finger an inch apart. "Are you coming back? Alberta had a look at what you'd ripped from your art board."

"What did she say... anything?" I asked scrunching up my face.

"Well, she didn't at first; she straightened the paper out, compared it to the models and smiled. She put it on top of your bag and commented about how gifted you are but then she asked if you were upset about something. When I said that I wasn't sure, she told me to come and check on you."

"Damn... Alright, come on... time for me to show everyone just what an amazing artist I am."

"That's my prideful friend... I've missed you." She said as she looped her arm through mine making me laugh for the first time since Ms Hoochimama Ozone came to visit.

=x=

**9:08pm**

Class had finished and everyone was starting to pack up. Since returning from the bathroom, I hadn't looked at Dimitri or _her_ as anything other than something to draw: if I did, then the green-eyed monster would have reared its ugly head again. I made sure to concentrate only on the individual parts of what was in front of me and not the whole... it was easier that way. I didn't like the feeling that had pulsed through my body when I saw _her _naked body being held by _his _naked body, it was a feeling that I'd never experienced before and I didn't like it one little bit.

"Well, I didn't think you would be able to pull off impressionism as well as you have Rose." Alberta said as she walked up beside me. "Especially after your first attempt."

"Yeah... sorry about that, I found that I just couldn't get into the right mindset, that's when I went to the ladies."

"I thought so. I'm glad you know how to pull yourself together in such circumstances Rose. You know the saying, 'The eyes hold the secrets to our hearts'; sometimes I think for us, as artists, that saying is especially true but in a different way than everyone else. _I _think, what we see _through_ our eyes and put to canvas or paper says a lot about the secrets that lay in _our _hearts. For example..." she said pointing to my first attempt that was now lying open on top of my art bag, suddenly I felt as if I wasn't going to like what else she had to say. "...that one is _so _different to what I _ever _expected to come from you. Your normal work is, as I said before, meticulous and incredibly detailed, almost to perfection. That one... there is nothing meticulous or detailed about that. To me it shows so much... anger, hostility, you could even say it feels a little bit tortured". _Oh God..._

I looked up from the floor, wondering where she was going with this and hoping it wasn't where I thought it was. She'd never said so much to me since I've known her.

"And then there's this one... It's very good; exactly what I asked for but... something feels – missing. It doesn't seem to have the same depth that your normal work has... even the angry one. It's like your heart wasn't in it tonight... Where was your heart tonight Rose?"

Before I could answer her, she turned around to say goodnight to one of the other students

"Wonder what she meant by that?" Mia asked. _Mmm.._.

I was a little afraid to think about it actually... Her words could have been taken in so many ways. To anyone else, her words were simple critique... (even though my work didn't deserve it)... but on the other hand, and to someone who had something to hide, her words made me feel as if she knew about Dimitri and me; I wasn't sure if that was allowed or not. She told us not to objectify him and I'd done an awful lot of objectifying in the last week...

"Are you waiting for Dimitri?" Lissa asked me.

"No." I had so many thoughts and emotions swirling inside of me, I just didn't want to deal with anything else tonight, especially if he noticed how affected I was by Ms Ozone's presence; I needed time to process everything. I grabbed my things and walked out of the room with my friends.

"I feel like a hot fudge sundae." Mia said as we walked out of the building and towards our car. "Can we go through the drive thru on the way home?"

"Yeah, I could go one of those cinnamon melt things too..." Lissa agreed whole heartedly. "What do you want Rose?"

_My man's arms wrapped around me... _"Nothing, I'm not real hungry."

"Oh, now I know you're lying... You're always hungry."

"Rose!" I cringed when I heard his voice. I was so close to escaping.

"Here..." Liss said holding her hand out to take my things for me. "...we'll wait in the car." I handed her my bag and nodded before turning around. My heart jumped at the sight of him... _God he's gorgeous. _

"Are you leaving without saying goodbye?"

"Well... I thought you'd be busy, I didn't want to disturb you." He tilted his head as his eyebrows knitted together.

"You could never disturb me Rose." He said reaching out and lacing my fingers in his. He pulled me into his body and wrapped his arm around my back; our hands still joined together. "Did I do something to upset you?"

"No... Yes... not intentionally." I said before letting out a lung full of air. "I don't know, I've just got a lot on my mind."

He didn't answer straight away; he just looked into my eyes as his free hand stroked the side of my face with his thumb. "I'd like to see you tonight, please don't go."

I had to bite into my bottom lip to stop myself from saying yes immediately. I wanted nothing more than to go with him, to be wrapped up in his arms and forget everything that had happened over the last couple of hours but I needed to think. I'd felt feelings tonight that I wasn't prepared for and I needed to pull them out to air and to see if they were feelings that I wanted to explore.

"I'm really tired Dimitri."

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For hurting you; I can see that I did.

"Like I said... it wasn't intentional. I just need to..."

I didn't get anything else said as Dimitri put a finger against my lips as he shook his head in the slightest of movements. He leant down and brushed his lips against mine in one of the tenderest kisses we'd shared.

Pulling away, he rested his forehead against mine as he spoke. "You've enveloped my every thought since the moment I laid eyes on you, all I wanted was to hold you, feel you, taste you; to the point of distraction. Tasha is an old family friend, nothing more. Do you trust me?"

"Yes." I said without hesitation. How could I not after every word he'd ever said to me, every touch he'd placed on my body, told me his feelings. "I'm sorry."

"No need to be... it was quite sexy really." He smirked. "After all of your teasing earlier on and then your kickass, spitfire eyes roaming my naked body as you slowly simmered away in the second pose of the night has me wound tighter than a coil; I'm about ready to _pop!_... You've been a bad girl tonight and as punishment, I think you need to go to my room..."

"Your room huh?"

"Yes, you know as well as I do that my furniture is just the right height for such punishments." I couldn't help smile at the memory of being in that exact situation not long ago... "Plus, I distinctively remember you telling me that you're a bit of a perfectionist and never leave a job half done." I couldn't help but laugh at his wiggling eyebrows. "So... How 'bout you come back to my place? If you don't like it, I'll give you a full refund."

"Oh!" I scoffed. "Are you saying there's a chance I won't like it?"

"Do I look like the type of guy who gives refunds?"

_Why can't I stay mad at him? _I pursed my lips and turned around to tell the girls of my change of plans only to find that they'd left me again... Only this time I didn't even see them leave.

"Bitches!"

"That's not a very nice word Rose... Didn't you know that the word of the day is legs? Now let's go to my place and spread the word."

"Oh Dimitri..." I said shaking my head. "You've got a bit of cheese on your collar there." He laughed as he bent down and scooped me up into his arms and walked over to his car. "Please tell me that you don't have any more one liners."

"Why yes, I do... wanna hear more?"

"No!" I playfully yelled as he laughed.

"Okay, cause you asked so nicely... Kiss me Rose! I can't taste my lips; can you do it for me?"

"Urgh..."

"Something tells me you're real sweet... can I have a taste?"

"Stop! Kill me now..." I giggled.

"My lips are skittles... wanna taste the rainbow?"

"You know Dimitri... If you feed me any more _corn_, I'm gonna be full and when I'm full I get sleepy..." I said with a terribly fake yawn.

"Shutting up now..."

Well, he certainly got me out of my bad mood, I really liked this playful side of Dimitri. Every day I was around him, I saw a little more of the man behind the beautiful face and I was yet to see something I didn't like. When we got back to his place, he put me into an even better mood, all night long.

* * *

><p>We hear from Mr Tantra-sex God next! :-)<p> 


	4. Chapter 4 Hope

**Hi everyone... sorry for the delay. A larger Author's note will be at the bottom of this chapter...  
>See you then... :-)<strong>

**Sandy**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 4 – Hope<span>**

**Hope: **One of the seven heavenly virtues. Hope for eternal love, eternal happiness and eternal salvation. Hope for the future.

**DPOV**

I've often heard people talk about a particular moment in their lives where they could actually pinpoint where _everything, _and I mean everything changed. Well, I never thought I'd be one of those people... but I was proven wrong. For me it was a Monday night, an ordinary Monday night; or so I thought. Monday, 21st of April at just after 6:30pm, my life changed... Forever.

=x=

No matter how comfortable I was with my body or how many times I did this, I still had to take a deep breath to steady my nerves before walking out into that room; first nights were always the worst. I grabbed the handle of the door in front of me, breathed deep as I raised my head and turned the handle. Being the friend she is, Alberta made sure to have the room at a decent temperature. Sure, summer was on its way but I was walking into a big-assed room with one completely glass wall _and_ it was night-time... I'm not small by any stretch of the imagination; _any_ part of me, but the circumstance I currently find myself in, coupled with a large, cavernous yet chilly room could have certain... disadvantages to a man who was about to strip in front of a room full of people.

I closed the door behind me and quickly took in the room around me. Just as my eyes landed on the most stunning woman I'd ever seen, she turned and bent down to her art bag on the floor, blocking my view of her. I turned away to find where I had to go and sure enough, within a few steps, I hear gasps... I'm male... of course I'm going to look.

The two blonde girls that sat either side of the brunette whose face I wanted to see again were both stunning and I couldn't help but smile at the looks on their faces, but blonde had never been my 'color of choice'.

I did my best to pull my eyes away from the goddess in front of me before my body reacted to the thoughts currently assaulting my mind; threatening to embarrass me in front of everyone; it wasn't easy but I did it. Only a few seconds later a loud scraping sound rang out; the large, open expanse of the room only made it louder than what it should have been. I looked towards the sound to find two of the most beautiful eyes looking back at me.

"Thanks for doing this at such short notice Dimitri..." Alberta said beside me. I was well aware of what she'd said; I just could find it in me to answer. I'm not a self centred person by nature, but I'm well aware of the effect I have on the opposite sex and going by this girl's reaction, she liked what she saw.

Something gripping the top of my arm pulled my attention away from the beauty in front of me.

"Did you hear anything I said?" she asked.

"Ah... yeah, sorry Alberta." I couldn't stop my eyes from quickly going back to the only person I was interested in right now and saw her whispering animatedly with the two girls on either side of her. I gathered by their barely contained amusement and her barely contained embarrassment, that she was about to be teased mercilessly.

"Mmm, well... no ogling the student's mister..." She said with a slight elbow to my ribs.

"Not my style Teach."

"Yeah right... Just wait till she catches you without this thing." She laughed as she tugged on the sleeve of my robe.

"You pimping me out now Bertie?" I smiled as she narrowed her eyes to the name she hated me calling her.

"Only if you're good enough to keep me in a life of comfort, a decent profit wouldn't go astray either." She said softly laughing.

"Oh!"... My mouth opened in shock... I'd become good friends with Alberta a few years ago. I was quite the wild one in my youth, getting into fights... angry all the time, it wasn't any wonder really considering the father I had. I met her because of my eldest sister who dragged me to one of her yoga classes one night telling me that it would help me focus; help me keep control instead of flying off the handle all the time, Alberta happened to be the teacher.

It took a few classes before I really started to realise that by learning to control my body through yoga, I was learning to control my mood swings as well as other facets of my life, even those in the bedroom. Yes, even at the age of seventeen, I was 'insatiable'...

I'm ashamed to say that in my youth, I was never one to consider my partners feelings, I was really only interested in my own pleasure and if she, whoever _she _was at the time,happened to get what she wanted out of it... well good for her. I was never forceful, never aggressive – just a little on the selfish side.

"Okay everyone, let's start shall we." Alberta said as she walked towards the centre of the room. My eyes once again went to the three girls at the far end of the room as I followed Alberta; the two blondes continued taunting the brunette with the flaming face. I watched her face as I started to untie the belt at my waist; her eyes slowly made their way up my body... but she was trying to look _any_where but directly at me. Watching her tongue dart out to wet her lips before pulling it between her teeth, did things to me that I didn't want to happen in open company... no matter how uninhibited I was. As soon as my robe was undone, her suddenly hungry looking eyes went straight to my body... Like I said; I'm a man and I couldn't help but smirk a little at the look on her face and the squirming she was unknowingly doing.

Before walking out into the studio tonight, I'd planned on how I was going to pose but that changed as soon as I sat down. I wanted to be in a position where I could look at her all night long; I wanted to watch her squirm in her seat and I wanted to watch her face flush... all... night... long. Which she did... and I did... (watch her, that is.)

Between those blushes, her friends teasing snorts of laughter and Alberta's comments about where my brown eyed beauty had decided where to start drawing, the next couple of hours had so many thoughts go through my mind. Thoughts of what she looked like under those clothes she had on, thoughts of what she looked like writhing underneath me, what she looked like as she shattered in the pure ecstasy that I knew I could bring her...

I was almost happy when Alberta brought the class to a close; any more thinking was going to put me in a very compromising position. One thing the last couple of hours had told me was that I had to talk to the girl whose name I now knew as Rose... I also knew it wouldn't take her long to get packed up and leave so I had to get myself out of the art class and dressed before she left. After a quick glance down to make sure I wasn't going to poke anyone's eye out, I stood up from where I had been sitting and let the sheet from my lap drop to the floor.

She didn't look away...

I smiled on the inside as I reached for my robe and slowly slipped it on. I was about to go out the back to get changed when I heard Rose tell her friend that she wanted to stare a little longer... As far as I was concerned, she could stare all night long if she wanted to. I couldn't stop myself from looking at her one more time... her natural beauty made me smile. With a wink, I turned and marched back into the back rooms...

As soon as the door shut behind me, my stride picked up and I quickly made my way into my dressing room... The whole time I dressed, images of her face went through my mind, coupled with every conceivable way I could ask her to leave with me tonight. I knew it was late, she probably had more classes in the morning too but I had to at least get her number.

I walked out into the large room outside the change room and watched the students leave the class on the opposite side of the hall to where I now stood. I smiled when I saw Rose and her friends walk out. My curiosity over what her drawing was like was too much, I had to see it. I quickly walked across the hallway and straight over to her easel.

"She's good isn't she?" Alberta said from behind me.

"Yes, she is..." _In oh so many ways..._

"She's got quite the eye for detail, even when she's distracted." I turned to see Alberta barely holding onto a straight face. "I thought you'd be busy tonight instead of in here looking at a picture of yourself."

"Hmphf... really? Well I hate to disappoint, night Bertie..."

"Goodnight Dimka."

I couldn't help but snicker at the giggles I heard behind me as I walked towards the doors that led to the carpark. She knew me so well...

My heart rate jumped when I saw her with her friends, my long legs making short work of the distance between us.

"Rose..." Hearing her name fall from my mouth that first time felt... right. When she accepted my offer of coffee, I did a mental celebratory fist pump. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw her friends drive away without her. Now I just had to think of where I was going to get good coffee at this time of the night; I was after all, the sort of man who never made promises he couldn't live up to.

I wasn't really driving to anywhere in particular but as the conversation continued in the car, I found that the only place I wanted to take her was my place. I had coffee... I think! I pulled into a parking space and turned off the car. "Here we are." I said confidently.

She looked around unsure of where exactly we were. When I motioned up to where my apartment was, it didn't take her long to realise where I meant. "Lead the way."

The ride up in the elevator was... electrifying, to say the least, I really don't know how I stopped myself from taking her then and there... but my mother raised me to at least _ask _before taking something I wanted.

_That..._ was _really _when my life's course changed forever, _that _was the instant I knew that my life would never be the same again. I'd been with other women before, lots of women actually and I can honestly say that I've enjoyed every single one of them... but Rose... she was – amazing, beautiful, delectable, insatiable, perfect... it! Every time I brought her to orgasm that night was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen and it was something that I needed to see over and over again.

Every sound, every movement she made that night told me everything I needed to know in order to bring her the most pleasure she'd ever known and her body was an instrument that I planned on playing for a long time to come. The next morning, when she mentioned the chair in the bathroom... I was sorely tempted to introduce her to the wonders of its uses, but I quickly saw it as an enticement to get her to come back.

Watching her walk away was the hardest thing I've had to do in a long time. I'd known her for like, fifteen hours or something and I was surprised to realise that I could easily imagine her in every facet of my life, no-one has ever had this amount of impact in my life... ever.

I pulled out my cell phone and quickly dialled the hospital to let them know I wouldn't be in today. I wasn't normally someone who took days off work so I had quite a lot of holiday time up; I decided I could do with a day or two, after all... I knew there was no way I'd be able to concentrate on my patients now that a certain woman had staked a claim to a large portion of my brain.

Three hours later and promises to both her friends to introduce them to 'like minded' friends, I found myself sitting across a table at Starbucks drinking coffee with the most desirable woman I'd ever laid eyes on. I nearly ravished her in front of her friends at her apartment when she walked down the stairs; I'm almost positive she wore the shirt she did just to tease me. I wasn't the only one in the cafe to know she wasn't wearing a bra.

Like I said, I knew the effect I had on women but I only had eyes for Rose... that's not to say I decided not to have a little fun... When the waitress came over to the table, I said more than I normally would have... just for fun of course. But as I was quickly becoming aware... the fascinating woman in front of me knew exactly what I was doing. As we talked, I went through all the different ways I wanted this night to play out, some more time consuming than others. I wanted nothing more than to consume her in every way possible and as soon as possible, but that desire warred with the need to know her on _every _level, so I dug into my training of delaying satisfaction and decided on taking her to dinner and a movie.

As soon as I'd made that decision, the night unfolded before my eyes – Oysters, Linguini... desert! I also knew that I would eat everything in a way that she would know exactly what was going on in my mind. And as I slowly, seductively sucked the pasta into my mouth, I knew she was as horny as I was... Onto step two...

I moved around the bench seat and proceeded to tell her in minute detail what I was going to do to her when we got home... _home... _huh! Less than twenty four hours with this woman and I was already seeing things of mine, becoming ours... Now as a rule that would scare the fuck out of most guys and normally it would have scared me too... but for some reason, I wasn't scared, at all. In fact the opposite could have been said, I wanted this. I wanted us...

I was glad for the breather when she went to the ladies room in a way... When my mother found out about my choice of 'lifestyle', she was less than enthusiastic. She tried to tell me that I was wrong in my way of thinking, but it was her parting words that were only just now coming to fruition...

"_... Just wait Dimitri, one day a woman is going to cross your path and knock you off your feet. Are you prepared for the fact that she may not agree with your way of life..."_

At the time, I just laughed it off... now, it scared me a little. But then I thought not only what Rose and I had already shared but the fact that if she truly was my other half, then my 'lifestyle' wouldn't scare her off... So with those thoughts going through my mind, I made myself a pact. I would show Rose exactly what I could offer her, in and out of the bedroom...

Dinner was amazing, the movie was... well, I'm not exactly sure what the movie was like, there was only one thing on my mind in that theatre and it wasn't the images playing on the screen... The only images I saw were the ones inside my head. I tried to wait for the movie to finish, but I couldn't... My body needed to touch hers and when it finally did, I knew we wouldn't be here for much longer. I whispered more of my thoughts to her knowing that she was on the brink, so I wasn't all that surprised when she jumped into my lap. I couldn't stop from feeling the outward signs of the arousal I could smell... I had to get her out of here before I gave everyone in the cinema more of a show than they'd paid for...

The elevator trip up to my apartment was one of pure torture; I wanted nothing more than to bury myself in her heat for the foreseeable future. Somehow, we got to the apartment fully clothed and I was more than happy when my previous thoughts of how right she was for me were confirmed... I asked her how many of the thirty or so positions you could do on the chair, she wanted to try... she said all of them! Was a luckier man ever born than me? I think not!

Unwrapping my present for all the restraint that I'd shown tonight was... sublime! The whole time it took me, I went over everything I'd said to her during the night. Desert was waiting for me, glistening for me; the aroma made my cock throb in anticipation. Tasting her again was euphoric; I'd never get over what it was like to suck on her hot, soft flesh. The sweet, tanginess of her essence was the best I'd ever had; no woman has ever come close to Rose. It only took a few plunges of my tongue to have her walls clamp around me and I drank everything she gave me. But the best feeling in the world was having her wrapped completely around me and I made sure that happened over and over, all night long.

When she asked how I could do what I did, looking so 'unaffected', I nearly laughed out loud... If only she knew just how affected I really was by her mere existence. I was determined to show her just how much she meant to me, how good we could be for one another but I also knew I'd have to take it slow... there was no way in hell I would run the risk of 'too much, too soon' and have her run from me.

=x=

The next few days were busy for both of us but that didn't mean that she wasn't on my mind every minute we were apart. Thursday night I dragged myself in from work and went straight for the shower. I sighed at the feeling of the hot water kneading at my tired, sore muscles... I snickered at the thought of needing a massage. I was too tired to bother with anything but the basics so the water was turned off and I soon found myself on my stomach in the middle of my bed, naked and asleep.

As was normal in my slumber, I floated in a sea of nothing but I soon found myself being pulled from the edges of unconsciousness.

"Mmm..." I groaned as I became more and more aware. My left leg flinched automatically as I felt something brush against it, tickling soft as a feather against the hairs that covered it. Within seconds I felt myself draw closer to the nothingness the offered peace but I was quickly brought back with another tickling sensation... one that slowly made its way up the back of my thigh, curling towards the inside of my leg. "Ungh..." I moaned as my left hand came around and rubbed the spot of skin that was now buzzing with a ghostly feeling... I brought my hand back and knotted it with the other under my head, forming a not so comfortable flesh and bone pillow while slightly shifting position on the bed.

Bringing my left knee up and out to the side of me was so comfortable that I once again started to relax, but the feeling returned once more; consciousness was now nearly completely on me as this feeling suddenly became more real... Whatever it was now traced its way lightly yet still slowly over my butt cheeks, left to right. I felt it move along the crease that separated my body to my right leg, inching its way closer and closer to the family jewels but for the life of me, I couldn't make myself move... Goosebumps peppered the flesh of my legs and lower body as blood rushed to my cock...

"Ooohhh!" The feeling quickly became heavier and more urgent... I was now awake enough to know that hands were the cause of the previous feelings and those hands were gripping my butt cheeks harder and harder. I smiled as fingers walked their way up my back and I felt the bed dip beside me as the weight of another body joined me.

My hips involuntarily thrust forward into the mattress as a soft yet hot tongue ran along the outer edge of my ear; hot air fanned across my skin making me shiver before my lobe was sucked between soft lips. "Ungh..."

My eyes started to open as I began to roll over onto my side but before I could see anything a blindfold slipped over my eyes...

"Shhh..." Was all I heard as small fingers pressed against my lips. I smiled at the thought of my sexy girl taking the lead... Feminine hands helped me to roll over so that I was no completely on my back. Those same feminine hands traced the lines of my face; making my lips tingle. Light as a feather, they then whispered their way down my neck, then along my collarbones... _God this was unbelievable... _From there they slowly made their way downwards only to circle across my ribs before meeting at my sternum. Soft touches had left my body screaming for more, more pressure, more friction, so when a soft, wet tongue lapped at my left nipple, my back came off the bed with a jolt...

"Oh yeah..." I murmured as I reached out for my seductress.

"Shhh..." was all I heard as hands wrapped around my wrists and pulled them up above my head. Obviously they were meant to stay here for the time being. Okay, I'll play...

A wet tongue came back to my chest, circling round and round before sucking my nipple hard. I couldn't help the loud moan that escaped me as the feelings went straight to my groin. I could feel the air cool against where my cock was crying tears of joy on my lower stomach; he was a happy, happy being right now. I was totally unprepared for what happened next and for the first time since I was fifteen, I nearly came without warning; teeth clamped down on the overstimulated nipple and fingernails pinched the other, sending lightning bolts of pleasure to all corners of my body.

As I forcefully reigned in my need for release, soft wet lips kissed their way downwards, stopping only to lavish my navel with a preview of its licking prowess. My cock bounced up and down in an effort to make himself known. I felt fingers swirl in the now cold previously cried tears of my other half, I grinned salaciously as I heard moaning accompanied by licking and sucking sounds from above me. _My girl was teasing me now..._

My other half stood completely to attention, now that he knew it was his turn for some attention the instant slick fingers came into contact with him. I had to put myself into my happy zone when he was suddenly enveloped in a blanket of slick, hot wetness. "Oh fuuuuck..." I groaned. Swirling tongue, sharp teeth and the feeling of hitting the back of my girl's throat was almost too much, my body was on sensory overload from the instant I emerged from sleep.

"Mmmm..." she growled around me. Up, down... up, down... My hips bucked as the coil in my stomach tightened in a way that I knew I wouldn't last much longer, my hands could no longer stay put; I had to watch this most wonderful thing happening to me. As I brought my hands down, the satin blindfold came with it.

"Rose..." I murmured. My eyelids blinked as they tried to adjust to the light right at the same time that she sucked me back with so much force as to make my eyes roll back in my head... "Holy fuck..." My head fell back to the pillow as I gripped the sheets either side of me. I have _never _been given head like this before in my life...

Somehow I gained enough brain power to know I wanted to watch.

Up, down...

_I'm gonna cum... I have to watch. _

Up... My eyes open...

SLAM down... brown hair fans across my stomach...

Back of her throat... she looks up at me... those beautiful brown eyes... I'm lost...

"OH..." My whole body shudders as I pour down the back of her throat; my eyes close as I feel her swallow around me, taking everything I have to give. "Holy hell Rose... that was..." I pant as I quickly bring my breathing under control. I grin in my post coital bliss as I open my eyes but I'm confused...

"Rose? Where'd you go babe? Rose...?" I glance around the room and slowly go to sit up onto my elbows. That's when I feel it... I look down and moan... "Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me..."

I shake my head in disbelief as I watch my spunk dribble down my abs. A friggin wet dream... at my age!

I quickly turn to right to see what the time is... 4:56 am, an hour and a half before I needed to be at work... I groan as I rub my hand over my face to get my bearings. A better way to start the day was never had...

I got up and walked towards my bathroom, smiling once again at my favourite piece of furniture as I pass it. Rose absolutely loved the chair, although I must say that there are a few positions that we didn't get around to achieving... I will have to remedy that.

While I showered and changed, I thought about calling her before leaving for work to see if she wanted to get together. The texts and calls we'd shared since being apart flashed through my mind at some of the most inopportune times... Like the one that I remembered as I stood in front of the mirror as I shaved this morning...

_**I'm so hot I had to buy a Popsicle; I'm sucking it right now, thinking of you! ~R**_

It's a wonder I didn't slit my throat...

I got to work just in time and went straight to my first patient. By 11am my fingers were twitching to call her... I had to see her again; this morning may have only been an extremely erotic dream, but it made my craving for her that much worse than it had been since being away from her.

"Sorry I've been such a prick, Dimitri."

"Its fine Adrian, I know what I put you through is hard and painful, I completely understand." I said to my last patient of the day. Adrian was a twenty year old guy that in the wisdom of his youth, thought himself indestructible. He thought it would be fun to take his father's 1000cc Lamborghini motorcycle out for a spin only to find its power more than he could handle and ended up wrapping himself around a tree. Luckily for him, the damage was minimal and with therapy, he'd walk normally one day soon. The bike wasn't so lucky.

"Yeah, I know but I shouldn't take it out on you. I was dickhead who put myself here."

"I can't deny that." I smiled. "I'll make you a deal."

"Oh yeah, what's that?"

"I'll let you yell at me all you want on the condition you learn from this and not do something that's going to get yourself killed."

"Deal! Although... it's going to be some time before I can afford to buy any sort of vehicle; my dad's making me pay for the shortfall of the insurance on his bike."

"Ouch."

"Yeah. So, you got plans for the weekend?"

"Not sure yet, I hope so." I said with images of a certain girl in my mind.

"Ah, by the look on your face, I'd say that those plans include a special someone..."

"You could say that."

"What's her name... or is it a him?"

"Oh..." I said narrowing my eyes. "You're lucky your injured already man... _HER_ name is Rose and hopefully I can get a hold of her before she makes other plans."

"Well, if she's as smitten with you as you are with her, then I'd say that it's a safe bet she's waiting for you to call."

"Who says I'm smitten?" I ask as nonchalantly as possible.

"I do... I could tell the instant you thought of her, it's like your aura just glows..."

"How very 'new age' of you, man."

"You better believe it. I see all... Go call your girl."

"I think I will."

A quick goodbye to a guy I could easily see as a good friend and I was making my way to the locker room for a shower and a change of clothes. Nearly an hour later, I was walking up to the door of my apartment when I heard my phone start to ring on the other side of the door, I quickly opened the door, dropping my things just inside and rushed into the lounge room where the phone was.

"Hello."

"Dimitri, how are you?"

"Christian, good, I'm good thanks. How are you and your sister?"

"Both good man, that's sort of why I'm calling actually."

"Oh really."

"Yeah, she wants to know if you have anything planned for this weekend. Apparently one of her instructors called in last night saying that they hurt themselves and wouldn't be in and Sister dear wanted to know if you'd be able to fill the spot."

"Can I get back to you man? I've just got in from work and I was about to make a call to see what a friend of mine has planned."

"Friend, huh? Must be a good 'friend' if you'll blow off a weekend retreat."

I knew he'd have to say something... "Yeah, she is."

"Oww, sounds interesting... tell me about her."

"Not on your life." I smiled as his laughter on the other end of the phone. "Hey listen, are you seeing anyone at the moment?"

"Nope, free as bird and lovin it!"

"Well, that's a shame then."

"Why..." he dragged out curiously.

"Oh nothin'... forget I said anything..." I loved baiting with him, he could never resist...

"Oh no you don't Belikov, you can't just say that and leave me hanging... spill!"

"What happened to 'free as a bird and lovin' it'?"

"I know where you live Belikov. Don't make me come 'round there."

I laughed as I made myself comfortable on the lounge chair... "My _friend _has a friend that asked me if I knew anyone with the same 'interests' as me... I thought of you. Oh, and she's a twin."

"Oh you're kidding me..." I could just see his face in my mind...

"Not identical though and the sister wants in on the action too apparently."

"Together?"

"I don't know, you deviant..." I rolled my eyes. Christian was the best guy I knew, loved women, worshiped them to tell the truth but I really had to wonder if he truly grasped the whole meaning behind our lifestyle choices. "Somehow I doubt it, but from what I've seen of the girls, you'll have your hands full with just one of them."

"In what context do you mean 'full'?" _Yeah, deviant..._

"Argh... Do you want an introduction or not?"

"Of course I do, what's she like?"

"Early twenties, blonde, tall, catwalk model type. Her name is Lissa, her sister Mia is shorter, but very much like Lissa... _who _I might say is more your type..."

"Cool, should I call her or how does this work?"

"How about I give Lissa your number and let her take it from there?"

"Sounds good man, sounds good."

We talked a little more before ending the call and I tried calling Rose's cell phone but it went straight to message. I got up and went to the kitchen to make myself a nice, strong cup of coffee and while that was brewing, I called her home number. Five rings and it switched over to message...

_Hey! You've reached Lissa! Mia! And Rose... We're either not home or we are and we're just waiting to see if we want to talk to you, but either way, you're about to leave a message... So DO IT! BEEP_!

I smiled at the laughing voices of the three girls I'd come to know... one more than the others.

"Hi Rose, its Dimitri... I was wondering if you had any plans this weekend. I tried your cell but it must be turned off so I thought I'd call you at home. I'd planned on asking you this morning but I had to be in at work for an early appointment and this is the first chance I've had to call. Let me know, just call my cell phone. If I don't pick up, just leave a message. Alright... I'll hopefully see you later. Bye.

BEEP!

I looked at the clock to see that she was probably still in class, so I thought I'd take the opportunity for a workout, if this weekend turned out the way I'd like it to, then I'd need to limber up. I grabbed my coffee and put it on the kitchen bench to cool and then went into my bedroom to change into workout clothes.

_Man this coffee is unreal! _

An hour of Yoga at our apartment buildings gym was just what I needed and I quickly rang Christian back to let him know that I couldn't be of help to his sister this weekend before jumping into the shower. I was just about to have a second cup of coffee when my phone rang... I smiled when I saw Rose's number flash up on the screen.

=x=

I didn't think it was possible to have a better weekend than the two days I'd spent with Rose at the beginning of the week, but I was wrong... By Sunday afternoon, as we lay totally spent on my bed, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I wanted more than just weekends with this amazing woman. She was my other half in a lot of ways, she balanced me out... We were the same in every way that mattered and opposite enough to challenge me and keep me on my toes. She was amazingly beautiful inside and out, funny with the sharpest wit, yet compassion ran deep in her veins. We hadn't spoken a lot about our pasts but I could tell from the little she'd told me that she wasn't close to her parents and as a result, anyone she gave her heart to, she was extremely loyal to...

A few times now she'd brought up the subject of monogamy, (if not in so many words) and by the end of the weekend, I'd made sure she knew exactly where I stood on the matter.

I wanted to feed her before taking her home, but she said she didn't want to risk it after my 'seduction' of her the last time we went out... It was probably a good idea actually. When we pulled up outside her apartment building, I suddenly found myself having thoughts of locking the doors and driving away with her...

"Don't forget to tell Lissa that Christian is waiting with baited breath on her call..."

"I won't..." she said laughing. "Although I may not give her the number straight away, there's no better sport than stringing Lissa along..." _Yeah, we're so much alike..._

"Okay. I don't think I'm quite finished with you just yet." I said honestly as I took her hand.

"I know what you mean. Let's not go so long without seeing each other okay."

"I'll see you tomorrow night."

"Yes, you most certainly will... I have a picture to finish."

"Ah, yes... the picture. What do you have planned for that after the class?"

"Oh, it'll be mounted and put up for auction... I'll make a fortune!" She giggled at my shocked face before continuing. "Nah... once framed, it's going on my bedroom wall where I can look at you every night."

"I like that idea better." _Although I'd rather her look at the real thing every night rather than just a drawing._

"Mmm, me too... From now on, this..." she said running her hand down my chest. "... is for my eyes only; other than in class of course."

"Of course..." I smiled.

"I'll let you go." She said with a kiss.

=x=

The next day passed quickly and I couldn't wait to see her again during class, so much so in fact that I found myself at the art block nearly an hour early.

"Hello Dimitri." Alberta greeted as I walked into her office.

"Hi Bertie, how have you been?"

"Good actually, thanks for asking, but if you keep calling me that, _you_ may not be for very long."

"Oh, you know you love it..." She didn't disagree... "Anyway, how's Stan?"

"He's good; he's actually gone to visit his daughter and her husband for a couple of weeks, Meredith and Eddie are expecting their first baby and we think Eddie is a little scared to be by himself at this time. He'll come home once the baby's born and then we'll go back once I'm finished with my classes here."

"Oh, so I can call you Granny soon then?"

"I'd rather Bertie..." I couldn't help but laugh. "Come on, I'll show you what I have lined up for tonight."

We both stood and walked out of her office and made our way over to where the change rooms were located.

"Once everyone's finished with last week's pose, we'll change props over to this bench seat." She said pointing to a wooded bench with slightly carved legs. "I've called in a friend of yours to help out for a couples pose."

"Oh really, who's this friend?"

"Tasha. She gave me her card a little while ago when I held a class for her up at the retreat and considering you're friends, I didn't think it would be an issue for both of you to pose together."

"No, I'm fine with it if she is." I was a little surprised but she and I had known each other a long time and I knew it wouldn't be weird doing this with her.

"She was telling me that she asked you to do a class last weekend but you were 'busy' with a 'friend'... so her brother tells her." She said using air quotes. I could see by the smirk on her face that she was fishing for information... I just didn't know if I wanted my suspicions confirmed or not.

"I was actually... very busy."

"I'm sure you were. Anyone I know?"

"Maybe..."

"Hmm... Well, _whoever _it is, I hope that everything works out for you both."

"Thanks Bertie, I hope so too, she's very important to me. I have hopes that what we have now only strengthens to last a life time."

"That serious?"

"I think it is."

"Good... Anyway, Tasha should be here just before 6:30, show her that..." she said indicating the bench seat we'd be using. "... she may have a pose in mind that will work. There are plenty of other things around that you can use as props too... just have a look around." Movement behind her caught my eye and I spied familiar deep brown hair through the small glass panel in the door behind Alberta... Then she turned around and our eyes met...

"Will do... see you soon then." I said as she walked to the swinging doors of the room.

"Alright then Dimitri, just work it out and let me know." She said opening the door; she stopped suddenly when she came face to face with the object of my desire. "Oh, hello Rose, you're early."

"Yeah, just thought I'd put my stuff inside and then wait around till everyone gets here, if that's alright." Now that the door was open, I could see all of her, instantaneously I felt myself harden; I wanted her, right now. She looked good enough to eat... _I may just have to do that._ I thought, licking my lips as Alberta said something to her and then walked away. The door started to shut and I was there instantly to stop it coming between us.

Rose turned to look back at me where I stood grinning at the thoughts running through my mind. I lifted my hand and curled my pointer finger; willing her to walk towards me. I'd noticed on a few occasions that she showed no hesitation at following the simple gesture. "You look nice." I said as the door shut behind her.

"Thank you."

Her proximity was like a magnet and my feet moved towards her. "You're early."

"Not as early as I wanted to be, I'm sure Liss was dawdling just to piss me off..." I couldn't help but laugh at the way her mind worked as I took her things out of her hands.

"You're a very distracting woman Rose, you know that?" I said as one of the text messages that she'd sent me during the week, came to mind.

"I have no idea what you mean." _Yeah, sure you don't. _

"Hmm, does... _'My pussy needs a scratching post...' _mean anything to you at all?"

"Mmm, nope, not really considering I don't have a cat."

She was so easy to read... Maybe it was how close I was to her now, but I heard the slight fluster in her voice and I knew what that meant... I knew that her body was responding to me under that sexy shirt, and I was going to prove my theory correct.

"Well _that's _not true; I know for a fact that you have a _very_ soft pussy that I love to pet... over and over again." I said against her lips. Instantly my mouth was on hers, my tongue tasting, possessing... I cupped my hand between her legs, feeling the wet, throbbing heat. It makes my heart race whenever I see just how responsive her body is to mine; the feeling of...'possession' is somewhat disturbing, yet at the same time it's, exhilarating, empowering. I hungrily push my tongue into her mouth; I need to taste her. My fingers move the thin material of her thong to one side and I push two fingers into her moist, silky heat.

"Oh... Rose, what on earth have you been doing to be this wet?" I asked pulling back to look at her. My fingers didn't let up on their exploration, instead going deeper. I loved the look on her face when I hit 'the spot'...

"Just thinking about seeing you; that's all it takes."

I smile at her words. I couldn't wait anymore, unlike normal... I was going to take her fast and hard and I quickly looked out the small window of the door to make sure no-one was out there. The scent of her arousal was driving me insane and I needed to taste it; but not here, so I did the next best thing. I slowly pulled my hand away from her sex while keeping my eyes locked with hers; I wanted to see her face as I licked her juices from my fingers. I wasn't disappointed... "Mmm... Delicious... Come with me."

I took her hand and pulled her over to the smaller change rooms that were on the other side of the large makeshift store room that we now stood in. I wanted to see the effect of her watching me take her in the mirrors of the room.

"So, this is where..." I was so worked up; I pushed her against the wall and stared deep into her eyes...

"Your messages have kept me hard all day long." I wanted her to feel what she was in for; I'd never been this dominating before, I rather liked it. "Not really what you want to be sporting when trying to work with a seventy-four year old woman recovering from hip surgery." The image of old Mrs Kirova's eyes eyeing off my crotch for two hours nearly made my cock recoil in horror...

"Did I do that?" She smirked. She tried to look innocent but innocent she was not.

My cock bounced in anticipation moments before I crashed my lips to hers while I lifted her up where I could have better access. "You most certainly did. There's no way possible that I can go out there tonight..." I said hoping she'd get my meaning, the look on her face told me she didn't. "... like this. Unless you know of a way to._.. _remedy the situation?" That cleared it up for her!

Her hand quickly moved down to my jeans, obviously as eager as I was to be released from my cage of denim.

"Oh God... that's a nice scratching post you have there..." _Scratching post? I'll give you scratching post my love... _I thought as a growl rumbled through my chest.

"Here pussy, pussy, pussy..." No more talking, no more waiting, I leant forward sucking the soft skin of her neck into my mouth as I plunged into her.

"HOLY FU..." She started to yell. I didn't want anyone disrupting this by coming to see what all the noise was about so I silenced her with my mouth.

"Shh... You don't want someone coming in to see what all the noise is, do you?" I said as I thrust myself into her over and over, increasing the force each time. I gave a quick, silent prayer to whoever made the shirt she was wearing, its quick access well much appreciated. I palmed her amazing breast, pinching her instantly hardening nipples. My other hand held her firmly in place as I continued to take her with abandon. I slightly lifted one leg higher up my waist and twisted my hips so that I could change angles... _Oh fuck... _I would never get used to this... "Urgh... I love how you're so damn tight. Let it go baby... cum for me."

I could feel her muscles twitch and tighten around my cock as she got closer and closer to orgasm; I'd brought her to the edge so many times by now, I knew exactly how to read her. I knew without looking that the instant she started to pull at my hair, her toes would be curling... I also knew that my pinching that soft button of her sex, her orgasm would explode into fireworks behind her eyelids; what I wouldn't give to be able to see that happen in the mirror behind me. I made a mental not to take her against one of the mirrors next time so I could do just that.

I swallowed her moans of pleasure as she pulsed around me, setting off my own orgasm, "Rozaaaa..."

I opened my eyes and watched her come down from one of the most powerful orgasms she'd had, I knew then that I wanted to see this happen over and over again for many years to come. I wanted her, permanently, but she was a strong and wildly independent woman, I could only hope that one day, I could make her mine.

"Wow..." she breathed.

"You're not wrong... You're amazing." I smiled.

"This I already know... I'm good at everything I do."

_You have no idea Rose... _I thought as I looked deeply into her soulful eyes. I didn't want to move, I wanted to stay locked with her forever. I kissed her with the delicate passion I felt for her, regretfully pulling away from her as I did.

"If I don't leave now, I never will. You know I have a quick recovery time."

"And since when is that a bad thing?"

"Since we both have an art class that we need to get to, one that the teacher knows we're both present for..."

I gently moved to put her feet back onto the floor, knowing if I didn't, I'd want her again. I went to get the towel from under the bench so that I could clean her up, her whimper as I touched her sensitive flesh made me twitch. I took a deep breath to calm my thoughts before going back to get ready for class. I watched in the mirrors as her eyes deepened with renewed desire as I stripped, the look on her face was going to make me lose control if I didn't put a stop to it.

"Looking at me like that is going to get you into trouble Miss Hathaway."

"Promise..?" The look of irrepressible hunger in her eyes had me laughing loudly...

"Oh yes... I most certainly do." She should know me well enough by now that seeing her with hungry eyes and needy words did amazing things to my body. I quickly pushed down my jeans to show her exactly how ready I was to fulfil that promise. "Short recovery time, remember. Now you need to leave before Alberta comes looking for me and finds more than she bargained for."

"I think that will be the case whether I'm here or not. I just fixed that for you and now you've gone and wrecked all my good work... Lucky for you, I'm a perfectionist and never leave a job half done."

_This _time, I took advantage of the mirrors in the room as she took me on her knees... _I think I'm going to have to invest in some mirrors for home... _That was a sight I wanted to see again.

=x=

I heard Alberta call out to me minutes after Rose left me in a state of satiated bliss. I came out into the large room to find Tasha standing beside her. Alberta's eyes quickly took in my appearance and shook her head before leaving us with a smirk on her face. She knew exactly what I'd been up to...

"Did you just get out of bed, Dimka?"

"No Tash, I didn't."

"Well, that only leaves one other reason for your... dishevelled appearance. Who is she?"

"Someone very special." I said smiling as we walked back to the change rooms.

"Ooow, I've never seen _that _look on your face before Dimitri."

"What look is that?"

"The look of love..."

I stopped walking and looked at my lifelong friend as I processed what she just said. _Love...? _Yeah, I guess that word fit...

"I've only known her a week Tash..."

"So... I knew I loved Pavel within twenty-four hours, when your other half crosses your path... you just know."

I wanted to reach out and take the pain away that passed over her beautiful face. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah... it's still hard, even after all this time. Christian keeps trying to get me to 'put myself back out there', as he so says... I know I probably should but... I know there'll never be anyone else for me, so what's the point."

I knew that losing her husband had hit her hard but when she lost the child she was carrying because of that grief, it broke something inside of her that I knew would never heal.

There was nothing I could say to ease her pain, so I just reached out and pulled her to me. A minute later, she pulled back and wiped a stray tear from her eye.

"You need to get out there before Alberta thinks you're dipping your wick in more than one honey pot..."

"Oh, that's so crude... even for you. You robe is in there." I said nodding behind her. I showed her the bench we'd be using and then we quickly discussed how we'd position ourselves as she got changed. Then I left her to go finish off the pose from last week while she went to go get a coffee while she waited for her turn to come inside.

=x=

I opened the door to the art room; my eyes became heat seeking missiles, intent on one particular target. The smile on her face made me want to rattle her cage a little so I quickly made my way over to her. I leant in between Rose and her drawing and made the excuse that I wanted to get into the right pose, even though this drawing was etched into my mind. I made sure she knew _exactly_ what I would be thinking of as she continued to draw me tonight... I smiled when I saw the look of desire spark once again in her eyes.

I was more than pleased to hear her now familiar moan when I disrobed, I somehow repressed the laugh that threatened to erupt as I looked back at her. Everyone else in the room however, didn't have a problem expressing their amusement to her reaction, even Alberta. By the look in her eyes, she now knew who was the reason for my tousled appearance in the store room earlier tonight. Getting settled, I was thankful once again I could stare at the most beautiful woman all night and it not be seen as 'leering' by anyone else in the room.

The next half hour passed quickly, a miracle really considering all the blushes, licking of lips and mouthed intents she directed my way. She was in _so _much trouble after class. Soon Alberta announced that the couple pose was about to commence and Tasha walked in. I smiled at my friend after putting my robe back on, pleased to see that all signs of her pain had disappeared from her face since I'd left her.

"Which one's your lady friend?" she whispered as she kissed both of my cheeks.

"See if you can pick her."

As we helped Alberta change the props, Tasha looked discreetly around the room. I knew it wouldn't take her long to pick Rose out, even I could see the jealously rolling off her like a tidal wave.

"Oh... she's beautiful, even in that lovely shade of green."

"Be nice..." I said smiling. I glanced up to Rose as Tasha and I got ourselves ready for the next pose, but she wasn't looking... I could see how hard this was on her and silently made her a promise to make it up to her until she forgave the pain this was causing her.

Even though my face was directed down to Tasha's, I could see Rose out of the periphery of my vision. Every minute that ticked by, she got more and more upset. I heard her soft growl of frustration and I couldn't help but break pose to look at her, hoping she'd see how sorry I was, but she looked away almost instantly.

"She'll be alright," Tasha whispered to me. "She just needs to calm down." I stayed in pose even though everything in me wanted to follow her. I only hoped that this hadn't ruined the fragile newness of our relationship. A few minutes later I heard Alberta send Lissa off to see to her friend. It wasn't long before they both came back and immediately I noticed Rose was a lot less upset. I would definitely have to thank Lissa somehow for whatever it was that she'd said to her while they were outside. For the rest of the night I tried to keep my worry over what had happened at bay by not looking at Rose, my professionalism was hanging by a thread as it was, if I saw her hurting again... I'd have to go to her.

Tasha and I covered ourselves as Alberta started talking to Rose and then went to go get dressed, I wanted to make sure she didn't try and leave without talking to me about tonight.

"About tonight..." I started to say to Tasha.

"No... I'll talk to you another time, go see your girl."

"Thanks Tash." We said a quick goodbye and I ran back out to the art room but the girls had already left. I couldn't help but take a quick glance at the couples drawing she'd done on the way out though... God, she's brilliant...

My long legs carried me quickly through the halls and outside, and I noticed how close they were to leaving. I also noticed her posture when I called out to her... she was trying to make a quick getaway.

"Are you leaving without saying goodbye?"

"Well... I thought you'd be busy, I didn't want to disturb you." I didn't quite understand what she meant by that...

"You could never disturb me Rose." I reached for her hand to make her see how much I meant that. I also wanted to get her to talk to me... "Did I do something to upset you?"

"No... Yes... not intentionally. I don't know, I've just got a lot on my mind."

I could see it wouldn't take much to get her to talk now but I didn't particularly want to do it in the car park... "I'd like to see you tonight, please don't go."

"I'm really tired Dimitri." I could see the hurt in her eyes as well as hear it in her voice. This was not the woman that walked out of my dressing room earlier tonight... I wanted her back. I could see how much tonight's pose with Tasha had hurt her and I had to get her to see that I understood _why_ she was hurting, so I apologised... She tried to wipe it away with a flick of her hand but I couldn't let her do that... I had to fix this. I bent down and kissed her as softly as I could; trying to make her see that I didn't want to hurt her anymore than I already had. Then the words just tumbled out...

"You've enveloped my every thought since the moment I laid eyes on you, all I've wanted was to hold you, feel you, taste you; to the point of distraction. Tasha is an old family friend, nothing more. Do you trust me?"

"Yes. I'm sorry." I could see she meant what she said.

"No need to be... it was quite sexy really." I said trying to lighten the mood. "After all of your teasing earlier on and then your kickass, spitfire eyes roaming my naked body as you slowly simmered away in the second pose of the night has me wound tighter than a coil; I'm about ready to _pop!_... You've been a bad girl tonight and as punishment, I think you need to go to my room..."

"Your room huh?" My heart leapt as I saw the light flick on in her eyes... so I went for the kicker... I brought up 'the chair'... My relief was almost palatable when she turned around to where her friend's car was, we were both surprised to see they'd already gone... I couldn't help but pull out the bad, cheesy jokes that seemed to endear her to me more than irritate her. She had to my perfect woman, who else would love this side of me...?

* * *

><p><strong>Hi Everyone,<strong>

**First of all I wanted to say thank you to everyone who sent reviews and private messages of well wishes for my surgery. I'm sorry I haven't been able to get back to you all before now, it took me longer to recover from the surgery than I thought it would... It was a week before I could even sit up long enough without getting a head ache, even then it was only an hour or two at a time... So thank you, thank you, thank you! Unfortunately, because of the time it took me to get back into the swing of things, it's put my writing behind.. in both stories, so please bare with me until I can get back into full swing. **

**As a reward for all of your patience... this chapter was nice and big... well over 10,000 words, even without my A/N's... :)**

**Now... With this chapter, I didn't really want to start it right from the start again, but I wanted you all to see where Dimitri's feelings were when he first laid eyes on Rose and what the ended up by the end of the chapter. As I said previously, each chapter will alternate between Rose and Dimitri and also between the 7 deadly sins (RPOV) and 7 heavenly virtues (DPOV)... **

**So, thanks again and I hope you enjoyed hearing from Dimitri... next time won't be rehashing Rose's chapters (unless I need to make a reference)...  
>Talk soon and let me know what you think of <em>this <em>Dimitri...  
>And remember, some photos will be added to my photobucket account for this chapter... (I'll even add ones of my battle scar!) ;-)<br>Sandy**


	5. Chapter 5 Lust

A quick note: I'd like to say a quick thank you to all of my readers for their patience since my last operation. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get back into the swing of things. Hopefully things will start to improve and I'll be able to get the chapters up quicker than I've been doing lately. Your messages of encouragements and well wishes have been wonderful and I can't say how much I appreciate them all.  
>You are all just so friggin' awesome! LOL!<p>

Thanks againa and I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint.

Sandy  
>P.S. This is unbeta'd... I wanted to get it up! So sorry for any mistakes. Also, for those who don't have me on author alert, I put up a new one shot last week. Go check it out and let me know what you think. It's not written in my normal style but I hope you all like it. It's called The fight for the soul of Dimitri Belikov... and it's all about what happens in the warehouse in Last Sacrifice.<p>

Click on link and remove the spaces.

http:/ www . fanfiction . net /s/7201336/1/ The_Fight_For_The_Soul_Of_Dimitri_Belikov

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 5 Lust<span>**

_Lust__: an emotional force that is directly associated with the thinking or fantasizing about one's desire, usually in a sexual way. A__n inordinate craving for the pleasures of the body._

**RPOV**

In the few seconds before I finally fell asleep in the early hours of Tuesday morning from pure, unadulterated, satiated exhaustion, I made myself a promise... I was determined that I would never go so long in between seeing Dimitri as I had this last week. Though I must say that my appetite for him increases every time we are together, I think I'm quickly becoming addicted... I'm insatiable, I'm ravenous, voracious; I've even had to resort to a little 'self help' at times. I'm still not sure if this '_problem'_ I seem to have acquired is something that should frighten me or not.

I'm leaning towards, _not! _Nothing wrong with a healthy sex drive is there?

"What's on the agenda today?" Dimitri asked as we sat at the local Starbucks with our coffees and breakfast muffins.

"I have two classes after lunch, why?"

"You should come down to the hospital... see where I work."

"Really?"

"Yeah, only if you want to, of course."

"I'd love to. How about 10:30... 11 o'clock?"

"Sounds good."

He gave me the directions on where to go once I got to the hospital as we walked out to where his car was parked and then took me back to my apartment. I couldn't wait!

=x=

"Can I help you?" The woman asked behind the counter.

"Um, yeah, I'm here to see Dimitri."

"Do you have an appointment?" _Put the claws away bitch..._

"Ah, it's not for that, it's a _personal_ visit." I had to bite my tongue as the words 'I'm his girlfriend' almost slipped out... _What's with that?_

"Oh, okay... Um... he's in the main room at the moment," she said pointing to the room behind her, "... I'm sure he won't mind if you go on through."

"Thanks." I said while looking through the glass doors.

_He's perfection..._

I smiled as I watched him working with a guy that looked to be in his early twenties. I could tell by the look on his face that the exercise that Dimitri was making him do was painful, but even I knew that sometimes recovery was painful. I felt warm all over as I watched Dimitri; he was in his element. Even though I felt the same every time I was with him, here, he was somehow different, he was strong and confident; it was like he _owned _the place. Like this was him – deep down inside. It was a side of him that I hadn't seen before.

Just then he looked up and saw me standing at the doors. The smile that graced those luscious lips lit up his entire face; I couldn't help but return it. The guy he was working with noticed and turned to look at what had captured Dimitri's attention...

_Man, was every man associated with Dimitri gorgeous? _Even from here I could see he had the most intense green eyes I'd ever then 'Mr Green Eyes' said something to Dimitri, I couldn't tell what it was but it must have been something really good because even from here, through the thick glass doors, I could see Dimitri's eyes change and feel the lust that poured from his gaze. I felt it pour into me and slowly seep into every inch of my body... Instantly it came alive.

Dimitri's tongue came out and licked his lips before turning back to speak to Mr Green Eyes, (who by the way didn't look away from me). They spoke for a minute before Dimitri helped the other guy to stand up and then shook hands. My heart started to beat faster when they both turned back to me and Dimitri motioned for me to come inside. I guess I'm being introduced...

I opened the door and walked inside. There were only two other therapists and patients in the room and both were preoccupied.

"Hello gorgeous." Dimitri said in greeting before pulling me to him and pressing his lips to mine.

"Mmm, hello to you too."

"I'd like to introduce you to someone. Rose, this is Adrian Ivashkov, he thought he was indestructible until he found out he wasn't..."

"Yeah, yeah... don't listen to him. I'm still here right?" Adrian said smugly.

"Just..." Dimitri mumbled under his breath.

"Ignore him; it's nice to _finally_ meet you Rose." He said holding his hand out to me.

"It's nice to meet you too but what's this 'finally?' Am I missing something here?"

"No..." Adrian said before leaning in close to me. "He just got a little distracted in our last session and now meeting you, I can see why."

"Trust me Ivashkov; Rose is well aware of how much she distracts me."

_Not until now I didn't..._

Adrian didn't move away from me as his eyes flicked to Dimitri before coming right back to mine. "A Rose by any other name would smell as sweet... You smell good, you know." He whispered.

"I... um, what?"

"You smell good. Fruity – cherry, no sharper... Currant, that's what it is, mixed with... lily of the valley. I know that scent from somewhere, what is it?"

"Ah..." I glanced at Dimitri to find him smiling so obviously he wasn't too worried. "Amor Amor."

"So it is..." He said smiling. I could just imagine that he'd scored a lot with that smile.

"Quite finished Adrian?" Dimitri asked as he pulled me into his side.

"For now... Are you finished for the day?" he asked Dimitri as he stood up to his full height. He was almost as tall as Dimitri, just nowhere near as built.

"No, I thought I'd show Rose where I worked and plus, I'd rather spend my lunchtime looking at her beautiful face than yours."

"That's not what you said last week..." Adrian said with a playful flutter of his eyelashes. Dimitri snickered before puckering up and blowing a sardonic kiss Adrian's way. I could see these two had a close friendship built from extraordinary circumstances.

"Well, now that I've been slightly emasculated in front of my girl..." _My girl... Oh! _"I'm going to say goodbye to you my friend before you can say anything else. I'll see you on Friday and keep up your exercises."

"Sir, yes sir..." Adrian good-naturedly said as he saluted.

"Finally... some respect!" Dimitri said smiling. "Goodbye Adrian."

"Bye Comrade... Goodbye sweet Rose, it was lovely to meet you." Adrian said while laughing as Dimitri led me towards the glass doors I entered through.

"Comrade? That's good... fitting!"

"No, it's really not."

"But I like it... 'Comrade'... It's one of those words that tend to _stick_, isn't it,"

I couldn't help but giggle at the growl he let out, it was obviously a name that he wasn't all that happy to be called... that's a shame! His displeasure only made it a more appealing nickname.

I was a little confused when he walked past the corridor that led to the hospital cafeteria. "Are we not having lunch?"

"Yes."

_Okay..._

Ten minutes later we were in the lift of his building; we were standing side by side facing the mirrored doors. It was hard, but I kept myself from fidgeting; my eyes however kept darting to my left to look at Dimitri's reflection. With ever clench of his jaw, my body clenched in anticipation. I noticed him look up to the numbers above the doors and then our eyes met... Oh God... I was about to combust!

He motioned for me to walk out in front of him once the doors opened but I hadn't taken two steps before his massive arms were wrapped around my body. "You look good enough to eat." He growled as he sucked my ear lobe into his hot mouth. My breathing hitched as my eyes rolled into the back of my head. Hands pulled at my clothing before coming into contact with my skin.

"Fuck..." I breathed as I reached up and knotted my fingers into his long, silky hair.

"I intend to...repeatedly." Goosebumps erupted all over my body as fingers rubbed and pulled at my hardening nipples. My knees buckled as more fingers ghosted up the inside of my thigh and found their way under my skirt, quickly pushing the thin strap of my thong to the side. "So wet..." he whispered as he parted me and played in what was quickly becoming the 'deep end of the pool'...

I think I let out a moan that would have normally embarrassed me when he pulled his hand away and I watched as he started licking at my arousal that now coated his fingers.

_Oh! _

That was the flint to my match... I was officially on fire. I spun around in his arms and attacked, lips crashed into lips, tongues delved deep as hands fumbled with buttons. Again, I didn't notice we were inside his apartment until I heard him lock the door.

I wondered if ever the day would come that we would actually walk into his apartment without being locked together in wild abandon.

"I thought we were having lunch?" I asked as we kissed against the front door.

"We are... I'm having A La Pussy..."

"Oh yeah?" I said laughing. "And what am I having?"

"_Ungh_... I hear the 'Cock-a-leekie' soup is fan-fuckin-tastic here..."

"Mmm... Leaky cock just happens to be my favourite..."

I heard him growl heard seconds before his mouth crashed into mine. His tongue pushed its way deep into my mouth where I sucked on it for all I was worth. I don't know how it happened, but I was relieved of my panties and Dimitri was on his knees with his face buried between my legs faster than I could say 'Cock-a-doodle-doo'!

"OH GOD!" I yelled out as I wobbled when at least two fingers pushed deep inside my body at the same time as his tongue circled languidly around my throbbing clit. Within seconds, familiar warmth quickly spread and my body erupted in a spine tingling orgasm.

Just as I was starting to surface from my 'Dimitri fog', I felt him pull away from me, but I didn't have time to voice my displeasure before I felt him lift me up my the knees and slam his rock hard cock deep inside me.

We both let out loud moans of intense pleasure at the feeling of coming together. There was nothing in this world as wonderful as the feeling of being filled by this man... Filled – body, mind and soul.

"This is gonna be hard and fast Rose, I want you again before we leave."

_Oh God yes... _

That was the first of my lunch time visits, even when I knew I would see him that night. On the nights when I didn't, I had great visuals to get me though the night.

Insatiable... that's my new middle name, Rosemarie Insatiable Hathaway... Yup...

=x=

"Rose, snap out of it." I jumped in my seat as Lissa's elbow came into contact with my ribs.

"I'm listening; don't get your knickers in a knot..."

"Don't give me that load of bull, you're not listening. Even Professor Schoenberg can see you're not paying attention. He's looked at you ten times in the last ten minutes."

I looked back to where our distinguished art history professor, Arthur Schoenberg stood at the front of the classroom in front of projected images of paintings reminiscent of the early 1800's. Sure as shit, his eyes flicked straight to me... His eyebrows rose almost up to where his hair had once been when he noticed me looking directly at him. Apparently he was pleased that I was now listening to him. _Huh_...

"Alright everyone, enough of my ramblings, as you all can see from the images behind me, we're moving onto one of my favourite English artists. John Constable." Then he stopped talking and just looked out to the students in front of him... Okay... I looked up at the two very similar paintings... The images weren't the best quality; a little on the blurry side, but still... One I definitely knew as a classic John Constable, the other... was not. There was a definite similarity between the two and I quickly went through my mental library trying to remember this particular piece... I couldn't...

I slowly put my arm up.

"Yes, Miss Hathaway?"

"Ah, sir, the one on my left isn't a Constable."

"Are you sure?"

The slightly smug lift of his right eyebrow made me narrow my eyes and take a closer look. Once again I took in the subtle differences in the two paintings. "Yes, I'm sure. The one on the right is not a John Constable."

"You're right, it's not, but it is a Constable."

_Huh? Oh... I see..._

"It's his sons..." I said out loud. The Professor smiled and then turned to the rest of the class.

"As our _studious _Ms Hathaway has pointed out, these two paintings, although similar in composition, differ in so many ways. Your assignment over the next two weeks is to research and catalogue paintings done by these father and son artists. List how Lionel was influenced by his father and how he differs."

"Fan-friggin-tastic." Lissa mumbled beside me. "I hate Constable..."

I couldn't help but snicker at her less than enthusiastic approach. I knew Lissa was more of an Eleanor Vere Boyle type of girl... Fanciful, cheerful, colorful and any other type of 'ful' you'd like to think of... One of her favourite painters was Monet – his early work and then those he'd done _after_ his surgeries of course; Picasso was another of her favourites. I on the other hand _loved _Constable.

The brief moment of mental clarity I'd had in art history of what Mia was now calling my 'Dimitri-induced fog-brain' didn't last long though, I soon found myself pleasantly assaulted with a myriad of 'hot as hell' mental images and I slipped happily back into dreamland. I was lucky that all of my classes were with Lissa; otherwise I would have walked into any number of trees and walls if it weren't for her pulling me out of their way.

"Didn't we have French Lit today?" I asked my friends as we sat down at an outside bench seat to eat lunch.

"Yes Rose, we did." Liss said with a smirk.

"Really?" I asked totally confused... _Where in the hell was I?_

"I'm gathering you will be out again tonight then Rose?" Mia asked. It was now Friday and Dimitri and I had realised that five days was way too long to go without seeing one another. So, we came up with a plan of being together Monday nights after the Life Drawing class and then Wednesday and Friday nights as well with the option of planning for weekends as they came around.

"Yes, Dimitri's cooking for me tonight."

"Oh, he's cookin' alright." Lissa said with a smirk before turning to her sister. "What do you want to bet that he's cooking sausage and two vege tonight, Mia?"

That little gem was preceded by a rather _un_ladylike snort of amusement from said sister. But Mia being Mia, she couldn't help but take it further. "Either that or Frank and Beans..."

"Burrrrito's..." Lissa replied with a waggle of her eyebrows.

_Oh yeah, it was about to descend into 'that' kind of conversation. _

As Mia's giggles intensified, so did the innuendos. "Hot Dogs!... with a side order of Meatballs..."

_Trust Mia... _I thought as I dropped my head to the table.

"Oh... Spotted DICK!"

"And for desert... Bananas... with _cream..."_

"Éclairs... with _fresh _cream... that shoots down your throat when you bite into them."

"Oh, you guys are gross..." I said while the image of something else shooting fresh cream down my throat flashed through my mind.

"COCKTAILS!..." _Here we go, this should be good..._

"Ow, ow... I've got it..." Mia half yelled while bouncing in her seat. "Harvey Wallbanger?"

"Nah, that's not _stiff _enough for our Rose. He'll probably whip up one of those Moscow Chill's or a Sex On The Beach..."

"Oh, I know..." Mia drawled. "He'll give her one of those Vampire Kisses that we had at the club a few weeks ago..."

"Alright, alright... You've had your fun." I said. I had to get them to stop their diatribe; I was starting to pant...

"Not completely." Lissa laughed. "Will you eat at the table?"

"What?" I asked confused.

"Oh! You know what Liss?" Mia butted in. "He won't even have to worry about using the hotplates; he'll just lie _on _the table so that she can eat straight off his hot body."

"Hey... that's my man you're talking about."

"I didn't say _I_ was going to eat off him..." She said giggling. "Although I wouldn't mind giving it a go..."

Now _that_ deserved a slap!

"Ow!" She yelped giggling while rubbing the new sore spot on the side of her head. "Bitch..."

"Keep your eyes to yourself. If you two wish to continue, I'm out of here."

"Oh, come on..." Liss said grabbing my arm while trying to reign in her amusement. "We're only having a bit of fun."

Seeing an opportunity to change the conversation for me to her... "Hmm, talking about having fun, when are you getting together with _'Christian'...?" _

Her smile of amusement changed into a smile that was anything _but _funny... "Tonight actually."

"Oh, really, tell me more."

So for the rest of our lunch break I listened half heartedly about the conversation that she'd had on the phone with him on Wednesday night. Apparently she thought leaving it till then showed that she wasn't as desperate as she really was...

By 6pm that night, Lissa was more nervous than I think I'd ever seen her. She was normally just as cocky and confident as I was, though I must say that she probably had a more potty mouth than me.

"Calm down Liss, anyone would think you're a v-v-v-_virgin_ going on her first date." Mia said. She tried to cover it but if anyone knew her well enough to hear the slight bitterness in her voice, it was me and her twin.

"Don't worry Mia, you'll have your own personal sex God soon enough, I haven't forgotten you."

"You better not, I think I've only got a couple of weeks before Roger's due to go to the great rabbit graveyard in the sky, he's getting a bit rickety in his old age..." Roger, as in Roger Rabbit, was of course her trusty vibrator.

=x=

_**We've just arrived, b there in 5. xD**_

I didn't know what had me more excited... the fact that I was going to get my arms around my man in five minutes or that I would finally get to meet '_Hot'_ Christian... This was the adjective that was applied to his name every time Lissa mentioned him since getting a picture sent to her phone when we got home this afternoon.

'_Oh my God, he's so HOT'... 'Hot just doesn't do him justice'... 'How hot is he?'... 'I wonder if he's hot in bed'...'He's so HOT'... hot, hot, friggin hot... blah, blah, blah... _

There was only one male that I could apply the word 'hot' to and it wasn't Christian... When the knock at the door sounded, I thought Liss was going to throw up...

"You answer it Rose... I can't." She said as she tried to run back into her room.

"Hold her down Mia while I get the door." Laughter could be heard behind me as I ran to the door.

I nearly swallowed my tongue... _Hell..._

Dimitri stood in front of me in a pair of well worn, blue stone washed denims that had holes in all the right places. They hung dangerously on his narrow hips. The deep red button up shirt he wore over the top of a stark white Tee had its short sleeves rolled up over his bulging biceps... Biceps that I wanted to sink my teeth into.

"You gonna invite us in gorgeous?" He asked with a sly, knowing grin.

"Oh... crap..." I choked out in embarrassment. "Sorry, come on in." I couldn't take my eyes off him as he stood on the opposite side of the doorway while Christian walked in.

"Rose, this is my friend, Christian; he's actually Tasha's brother."

_That woke me up... Tasha... _Hearing her name was like a bucket of cold water hitting me. My eyes quickly refocused from Dimitri to the new guy in the room. If I was in a more gracious mood, I would have agreed that he was an incredibly good looking guy, all tousled black hair and piercing blue eyes, but knowing who his sister was, was a little... off putting.

"Hi Rose." He said holding out his hand. "Dimitri's told me a lot about you."

"Hi, Christian, nice to meet you." I said shaking his hand. _Hmm... Soft skin. _"He's told you a lot, huh?" I turned to Dimitri to find a smirk pulling at his lips, then he winked.

"Well, let's just say he's told me as much as I could pry out of him." Christian said. I must admit that I was more than a little pleased to find out that Dimitri had spoken to him about me.

"Ah huh... well, if what he told you was good, then it was all true. Come on, I'll introduce you to your date before she self combusts."

The two men followed me into the lounge room where my best friend was starting to sweat; and that would _not _do!

"Christian, this is Lissa and her sister Mia, my two best friends."

"Hi, it's good to meet you both."

Mia held her hand out in greeting while Lissa stood there like some gaping, fish faced marble statue. I could just see all the nights' possibilities running through her head, after all, she was hornier than a toad in heat and Christian was a good looking guy, _very _much her type. He'd be lucky to make it to the car in one piece. I quickly made my way to Liss where I wrapped my arm around her shoulders to pull her out of her Lust induced coma before she scared him away.

"Lissa... You look stunning." And she did in her little black dress, though Christian hadn't seen the back yet... I was pretty sure that he would appreciate the big black, satin bow that held the dress together. I was a little surprised when he held out a small box. "My sister said to bring flowers, but I wanted something for you to remember me by. It's not much... but I thought they were cute."

Liss gingerly took the box and opened it to reveal what looked to be gold bezel set diamond earrings. They were probably only simulated, but they were stunning.

"Thank you. They're beautiful." She said blushing like a school yard virgin. I can't remember the last time I'd seen Liss blush.

"You're welcome, shall we go?"

Not only did she blush, but she was speechless... Maybe they would make it to the car!

"By the way..." Dimitri said to me as we walked to his car, "... tell Lissa to take good care of her new trinkets."

"Trinkets...? You mean the earrings?"

"Yeah, they're real."

"Holy shit..." Suddenly I was a little miffed... She gets diamonds within seconds of meeting her date... But those thoughts vanished when I felt the heat of his breath against my neck and the softness of his lips as he kissed me.

=x=

Finally, for the first time, Dimitri and I walked into his apartment like normal people instead of horny teenagers left to their own devices for the first time.

"Now..." Dimitri said after closing the door behind me. "Come here gorgeous and let me say a proper hello."

I smiled as he pulled me into him. With the introduction of Christian, we'd missed the 'hello' that I'd wanted. I was pleased to see that he picked up on that fact too and felt the need to rectify the situation. His left arm snaked around my body as his right hand cupped my cheek. His eyes flicked between mine before taking in the features of my face.

"Hello my beauty." He whispered. "You look stunning." The look he was giving me warmed my entire body in so many ways. It was like he hadn't seen me in weeks instead of hours.

"Hello Comrade." I giggled at the growl I got in return.

"You're lucky I like you so much, you know."

"Oh yeah, how much?"

He just smiled and kissed me... softly, slowly, sensually. I melted into him. My hands slid up his arms and over his muscular shoulders before pulling at the band that held his beautiful hair back. Once it was free, I wove my fingers in and relished in the soft moan I got when I scratched softly against his scalp.

Fingers at my waist clenched and unclenched as our bodies swayed to a song only heard by the two of us as our mouths sang its silent harmony. Fingers twined into the hair at the back of my head, holding me tight. Fingers kneaded my backside, hands sliding over firm pecs. Blood starting to boil, skin pricked, breaths deepened.

"That much..." He said against my lips. "Hungry?" He said once my glazed-over eyes slowly opened.

_What? _I couldn't comprehend what he was saying... Fog... Damned useless 'Dimitri brain'... My eyes focused onto the smug, smiling face of the man that made life worth living.

"If I let you go, will you stay upright?"

"Yes..." _See, he doesn't affect me that much. _But he didn't let me go, he just pulled me back into him and pulled his nose up the side of my neck, breathing me in before kissing the soft skin behind my ear.

"You do smell good..."

"Have you been thinking about that all week?" I asked laughing.

"No, just commenting. Come on," he said moving back a step and taking my hand. "Let's eat before we get too carried away."

Personally, I was all for getting carried away now and maybe eating afterwards, but I thought I should probably play nice.

Dinner was amazing, I should have known that Dimitri was a brilliant cook; he's brilliant at everything he does, why not that too. He led me into the kitchen where he had a few things out already.

"What's this?" I asked.

"This is my Mama's world famous black bread. A secret recipe handed down through the generations."

"Secret huh?"

He nodded as he held a piece up for me to taste. Black bread... sounded like something that had gone past it's used by date and needed to be binned to me, but I'll give it a go...

It was yumm-o! I was pleasantly surprised.

"Where did you get this, did your mother make it?"

"No, I did." He said wryly. "I had to learn how to do it when I was about 10 yrs old because I'd eat it too fast and Mama said if I wanted anymore, then I'd better learn to make it myself... so I did."

"A man of many talents."

"You have no idea, my beauty." With a wink he turned away and started pulling things out of the fridge and oven. "Go take a seat, I'll bring everything over." He said motioning to the dining table. I hadn't even noticed it when I followed him in here; the table was set to perfection...

"So, what's on the menu?"

"I was going to make you some traditional Russian cuisine but I thought I'd go with something safe for now, ease you into it, so tonight we're having Chicken Kiev with salad." _Yum_... "And then for dessert, I made a Russian dessert called Baba Romovaya."

"Wow... you really went all out didn't you?" He gave a quick shrug of his shoulder and walked towards me with the salad and bread. "This is really great, I love it, but you do know that I'm a sure thing right?"

He glanced at me in amusement, one eyebrow lifted nearly into his hairline before bursting out laughing. He bent down stopping only inches away from my face and took my chin between his fingers.

"Let me show you that I care about pleasing you in every aspect, not just between the sheets." With a chaste kiss, he stood up and went back into the kitchen for the rest of our meal.

_Oh, I'm pleased, big boy... Immensely!_

And what a meal it was... By the time dessert was done and dusted, I didn't know how I was going to walk into the lounge room... I was absolutely stuffed!

I was very content lounging at the table with a full belly and a glass of wine in one hand while listening to Dimitri regale me with tales of his youth. Only twice did he mention his father and even then it was only because he had to. There was something in his voice when he said the word 'father' that made me think that they were more than likely _not _friends. But I did find out that he loved his mother, sisters and nephew immensely.

"Wanna watch a movie?"

_Huh? Movie...? _"Ah, okay..."

He just smiled and stood up from the table before reaching out a hand for me to take. He led me over to the soft lounge chair before going to put a DVD in the player.

"Red Riding Hood?" I asked him.

"What? My sister said it was good."

He was so cute sometimes... I wondered if I could pretend to be scared and needed his strong arms to protect me. I watched as he walked back to me and sat down against the arm and then pulled me into his side. He kissed the top of my head before turning his attention back to the screen and I didn't know if I should be perturbed about this or not.

On one hand, I was enjoying myself. This was a real date... But then, I was still turned on by the welcome that he gave me when we first walked into the apartment. It didn't take me long to relax and let the night unfold at its own pace. I rested my head on his chest as I slipped my arm around the front of his stomach, letting my fingers duck under the hem of his shirt where they found purchase on the skin of his waist.

Five minutes into the movie and my mind was already wandering. My fingers at his waist started moving in slow circular patterns as my mind went through the many memories I had of the times I'd been with Dimitri. I moved slightly to get into a more comfortable position and slipped my other arm in between the small of his back and the lounge; I was essentially wrapped completely around him.

Fast forward five more minutes and fingers were under the hem of my dress where it had ridden up my leg, mimicking the movements I was doing at his waist. I couldn't take much more...

Thirty seconds... That's how much more it turned out I could take. Thirty seconds and I lifted my face and nuzzled into the crook of his neck. I heard him sigh softly as my lips parted and I placed open mouth kisses against his skin. He tasted divine...

The hand under my shirt gripped hard as it slid up my rib cage. His face turned down to mine as he shifted; taking my lips with his in a slow, languid kiss.

"Don't you like the movie?" He mumbled against my lips. I could hear the smile that must have been evident on his face.

"What movie?" I asked, reiterating what the answer I'd given him the last time we'd watched a movie together. He laughed softly as he twisted us around on the lounge so that now I was on my back and he was leaning half of his body over me.

I let out a moan as I felt fingers make short work of the buttons that held together the front of my dress. "I've been itching to get you out of this dress since you opened your door." He said as he lavished attention on my neck and ear.

"Don't let me stop you." My light blue denim shirt dress was my favourite thing to wear when I was just wanting to relax, but I was also well aware of what some guys thought of girls wearing guys shirts... especially when they were big enough to wear as a dress. I was happy to see that it had the right effect on the man half on top of me.

Once the buttons were undone, he pulled back and his eyes slowly travelled downwards. My breathing deepened as he ghosted one finger down the centre of my chest and then over to my left side, moving the shirt open as he went. My eyes closed as he leant forward and kissed the skin above the lace of my bra. His eyes flicked back to mine for an instant as he lifted himself up, then they looked down again as he uncovered the other side of my chest.

"Beautiful..." he whispered more to himself than to me. His fingers continued on their journey downwards, opening the dress as they went. Once it was completely open and laying by my sides, his eyes came back up to mine. The want and desire that I saw in them almost took my breath away, but at the same time, my skin prickled from head to toe... He had no idea what he did to me... My hands gripped his shoulders as he leant forward and softly skimmed his lips over mine. Who would have ever thought that such a soft touch could insight such a heated response as the one that went through me then.

"Dimitri... please..." I whispered. My hands moved up into his hair in an effort to bring him closer to me but he pulled back with a slight smile to his lips.

"Oh, we'll get there love... just let me play a little longer."

_Love...? Holy fuck!_

I don't think he even noticed what he'd said; his attention was well and truly fixed on other things. And it only took a few seconds before my mind was elsewhere too.

Dimitri traced his fingertips over my skin from hip to hip and just under the lace of my panties; going a little further under with each swipe across my stomach. He placed open mouthed kisses down my neck and across my chest. Of course the hand that was on my stomach didn't go anywhere near where I wanted it to and I was about to let my frustration be known, but my attention was soon pulled away from there when his tongue flicked against my lace covered nipple until it hardened to where he liked it. My back arched up and I let out a breathy moan as his mouth covered my breast and drew it into his hot, wet mouth.

"Open your legs." He said before giving attention to my other breast. I complied as best I could given the room restrictions of the lounge chair. I couldn't concentrate on any one area because as normal with Dimitri, he grew eight hands when we came together like this; it felt like he could touch me everywhere all at once. Every time was 'sensory overload' from start to finish. At times it became so extreme, I swear my brain disconnected from my body just to try and separate from the intensity of it all.

Fingers circled on the inside of my thighs, inching closer and closer to my throbbing centre, then touched everywhere but where I needed him to. "Dimitri..." I whined.

"Shh..." His lips were now ghosting over my own, barely touching as his tongue came out to taste. Top lip then the bottom lip. He is the King of 'Slow Burn'. As our tongues caressed, circling one another in a seducing dance, his fingers mimicked its movement over the lace between my legs. "So wet..."

I could feel the tingling heat instantly rise to danger levels in my lower body and toes; I'm still of the opinion that he could make me cum with words only... He shifted slightly as he started to kiss down my neck and I lifted up so that I could remove my bra.

"No..." Dimitri said as he moved my arms above my head.

"What?"

"Not yet." _Oh, okay... _Further down he went, laying feather soft kisses as he went. I closed my eyes in preparation for finally getting what I needed. "Mmm, I like these, red's my favourite color."

"I thought you would." I said. I'd been out during the week with the girls and bought some new lingerie; Liss was taking the boy scouts motto to heart... 'Always be prepared'... I saw this amazing full lace bra and panty set and couldn't resist.

"Ungh..." I moaned as the point of his tongue came out and licked up the lace that covered me.

"Oh... you taste so good. I could eat you all night long."

_Okay... _

When he started to chuckle, I realised that I must have actually said that out loud... Oh well... He gripped my hips as he clamped down, sucking at me through the lace. A few seconds later and I felt him pull at the sides of my panties.

"Beautiful." He whispered once they were gone.

I let out a hiss of pleasure as he flattened out his tongue and licked slowly upwards. "Holy shit..."

"Mmmm..." He moaned against the sensitive flesh. I was so close already, but after the weeks of knowing him, I knew this was just the first of many, so I didn't feel as though I had to try and hold out... As I felt the tip of his tongue swirl around my throbbing clit, he slipped one finger inside, twirling and finding just the right spot...

"Oh God... yes, there... right... oh... shit...fuck..." Suddenly he pressed deep inside and my mind blanked out as my body exploded. His hand came away, only to be replaced by his lapping tongue. In, out, in out... Sucking, licking, swallowing... All I could do was pant as my body relaxed in a complete state of bliss.

"I'm definitely going to have me some more of that before the night is done, my beauty. Now, for what I have planned next, I think we need to move this to the bedroom."

"Oh really?" I said. My breathing was now a lot calmer but still deeper than normal. I smiled at the thought of knowing what the next few hours were going to entail. "Care to enlighten me?"

"Well, I could... but wouldn't it be more fun for me to just show you?"

"Seeing as you put it that way... yes, it would be more fun."

He smiled wide as he moved slowly up my body, kissing my skin every now and then. "You know, there are still a few positions that we haven't tried with the chair. What do you say we cross them off the list?"

"Well, you know me, perfectionist and all... I feel it's imperative to finish what we've started."

"Oh Rose... there'll be no _finish_, because once they've been crossed off the list, I fully intend to start again. And again and again and again..."

_Oh, hell yeah!_

"Well, they do say practice makes perfect." I said, feeling my arousal flair up instantly at the thought of all that practice.

"That they do. What a shame they also say that there's no such thing as perfection."

"Perfectionist, remember! And I never give up until whatever I'm doing is perfect."

"I know..." He said hungrily.

I couldn't help but giggle at our little banter but it was soon stopped by the invasion of my mouth by his tongue. My arms wrapped around his neck and he lifted me up, wrapping his muscular arms around me. When I felt myself lifted up from the lounge, I wrapped my legs around his waist, my lips never leaving his.

I was right... The orgasm on the lounge was the first of many and by the end of the night, or should I say by, the next morning... I'd had seven more. I was determined to ensure Dimitri scored a new personal record and when we finally fell in an exhausted tangle of limbs, he'd climaxed six times.

"You need to sleep now Rose."

"I know," I said before yawning. "...you honestly think that I have the energy for anything else?"

"With you... I never know."

"Well, you only have yourself to blame, you know? It's you that has made me this insatiable."

"Are you complaining?"

"Never."

I was rewarded with my favourite smile seconds before he pulled me into his side. Fingers danced up and down my spine, quickly lulling me into a deep and calm sleep where sexy, erotic dreams took over...

After all, tomorrow was another day...


	6. Chapter 6 Faith

**A/N:****Okay... well, here's our favourite Russian... He got a little chatty in this chapter and said things that I hadn't planned on! You'll see at the end. Anyway, don't forget to come join us on Facebook... Kessafan Fanfiction. I'll post teasers and photos for ya's. See ya there!**

* * *

><p><strong>FAITH: <strong>is trust, hope and belief in the goodness, trustworthiness or reliability of a person, concept or entity.

**DPOV**

By the end of the week, I could tell what she was doing... but shit if I couldn't dissuade her advances. I was falling for her – and fast. So many times over the last week, I only just stopped the words from falling from my mouth as she literally pulled my love for her out of me. I didn't know how I was going to be able to keep it in for too much longer.

I had to show her, prove to her that she could trust me – in all things. Trust my feelings for her, trust my belief in our relationship; trust in my integrity.

When she turned up at work, I was more than happy... for so many reasons. I'm a man, just looking at her was like winning the Lotto and knowing she was mine did wonderful things for my ego; especially when standing next to Adrian. I knew from our many conversations that she was exactly his type.

"Oh man, she looks like she wants to eat you." Adrian said from beside me. The image of my girl doing _just that _flashed through my mind. The image of her on her knees with my cock hitting the back of her throat in the mirrors of my dressing room at the college was one seared into my brain. Instantly the joy of just seeing her morphed into that of need... Maybe I should have been more concerned with how quickly she'd eroded my carefully constructed self control... but I wasn't.

The thoughts running through my head were so vivid; I could almost taste her sweet juices on my lips. "Mmm, I may just let her; she did come here for lunch after all..." I nearly laughed out loud from the look on his face...

"Oh, don't do that man... You do know how long it's been since I've seen any action right?"

"And whose fault is that."

"Don't rub it in... But if she's gonna to be coming here on a regular basis '_for lunch_' and you're going to be sayin' things like that, then you better make a fucking decent effort so that I can live vicariously through you. I have a pretty vivid imagination, but I have a feeling that you could make my dreams even better than normal."

"Adrian... The visuals in my brain aren't really conducive to calm, relaxing dreams... especially when Rose is involved." I needed to redirect my thoughts before I got myself into trouble. This _was _my place of employment after all... I helped Adrian stand up and turned and shook his hand as usual. "I'll introduce you if you're good." I smiled when he waggled an eyebrow at me. I lifted my hand and curled my finger, indicating for her to come inside.

When she got close enough, I just couldn't help but take her in my arms and kiss her. I was becoming addicted. While she spoke to Adrian, I let my eyes and soul take her in. I was secretly pleased when they got on so well. I liked Adrian and could see that even when he finished his therapy, we'd still be friends. Although... I could have knocked him out when he called me 'Comrade'... I knew Rose would pick up on it and she did; her sassiness when she realised my _dislike _for the name only inflamed the already simmering desire that was flowing through me.

As we walked towards the cafeteria, I realised that I had no idea to eat there and the offerings they served up were definitely _not _what I hungered for. I was turning into a teenager again instead of the experienced, controlled adult I'd been for many years and it was Rose's doing... God bless her!

My buildings lift was going slower... on purpose... I'm going to have to lodge a complaint.

As soon as she walked into my apartment, I was on her like flies on shit! My mouth hungered to have her inside; any part it could. I groaned at the sweetness of her skin as I sucked on her ear. My hands had minds of their own and were like heat-seeking missiles – and as one zeroed in on the heat between her legs, the other went straight for the buds I knew would be begging for attention.

I couldn't wait to rid her of her clothes to taste her, so I brought the fingers that were dripping with her arousal up into my mouth and I swear if I was actually the teenager I accused myself of becoming, I would have cum by that alone... Apparently, I wasn't the only teenager... Rose turned and attacked my mouth, igniting my desire to irrepressible levels.

I thought I was clever with my little '_pussy_' quip; I should have expected she'd come right back at me... besting me with her quick wit! I couldn't hold back anymore, I had to have her... now! I thrust my tongue into her mouth, letting her body know what was coming once I had taken care of her clothes... I kissed the shit out of her as I did just that and before she could get her bearings; I dropped to my knees, thrown one leg over my shoulder and buried myself in between her legs. I was in heaven! I pushed my fingers inside her slick heat and went straight for the spot I knew would have her screaming my name...

"OH GOD!" Was what I got... _Close enough..._

But I was nowhere_ near_ finished. Memories of taking her in the dressing room had assaulted me ever since Adrian had brought up her '_wanting to eat me_'. That image led to another, which led to another... which brought me to my current desire – a hard and fast fuck!

She was still coming down, still throbbing from the orgasm she'd just had when I stood up, lifted her off the ground and thrust deep inside her hot, dripping body.

_Holy fuck! _Those two words were all that I was capable of processing for God knows how long... Yup... addicted!

"This is gonna be hard and fast Rose, I want you again before we leave." I told her... and I meant every bloody word. We downed a quick PBJ sandwich before we ran up to my room and crossed one more position off the list.

BEST lunch I'd had in recent memory!

Until the next one... and the one after that... and the one after that... The nights we stayed together were nothing short of epic. Those nights I tried to pull back my desire to devour her, instead opting to go slow... to make love. My body showed what my mouth couldn't let out just yet.

Thursday night was 'enforced separation' night number two and Christian called to let me know that he'd had coffee with Lissa that day.

"She's... fuck, she's stunning." He gushed down the line. "Why didn't you tell me she was sex on legs? I nearly fucking choked on my tongue when she walked into the coffee shop... Asshole!"

I couldn't help but chuckle at the image he just planted in my head. Christian could wield fire with that mouth of his most of the time and I wondered if he reined it in when he was around Lissa or if she would actually like it. Coupled with the fact that she wanted me to introduce her to someone who 'shared my interests' and Rose being her best friend... I was pretty sure that she'd like his fiery words. Rose certainly seemed to enjoy it!

"You kiss your sister with that mouth Christian?"

"You know I do, Bro... But seriously, a little warning would have been appreciated."

"I think the words I said were something like 'blonde, tall, catwalk model type' if my memory serves..."

"I've heard you make promises like that before shithead, why would you think I'd believe you this time?" _That's true! _I had introduced Christian to a few people over the years; mostly those who I knew weren't his type for whatever reason...

"So, I take it things went well?"

"Yes, of course..." _Cocky prick! _"...we're going out on Friday night. She doesn't want to tell her sister and your girl until she really has to though because apparently they'll tease her mercilessly, so don't say anything in the throes of passion alright."

"My lips are sealed."

=x=

As the days went on and Rose visited everyday for lunch, I became more and more concerned that she was... _trying too hard. _I could have been wrong, but it felt like her ever increasing appetite for sex was her way of 'keeping me interested'. If only she knew just how interested I was...

Sure the sex was wonderful... out of this world really, but that wasn't what pulled me in so much. It was Rose... all Rose. Her very essence, her soul, her smile, her deep, warm chocolate eyes, her laugh, her mind and her heart... it was everything. The sexual side of her was just icing on the most magnificent cake I'd ever known.

But I was torn on the subject of letting her know just how much she meant to me. On one hand, maybe it would help, make her feel more secure. But then she could swing the other way and freak out completely and run... I knew her well enough to know that that could very well be a possible outcome.

She had grown up as an only child to parents who were married to their jobs more than to each other... or their daughter for that matter. She didn't grow up with hugs and kisses and words of love being wrapped around her like they should have been... and as a result, she wasn't the 'overly cuddly' type of person. Declaring that I was in love with her after only a few weeks could very well chase her away faster than telling her I was some mythical creature of the night intent on sucking her dry. _Hmm... That did actually sound pretty good... Oh hell, I'm hard again!_

=x=

Friday after work, I went home and found Christian sitting in his car outside my apartment building waiting for me. Eager beaver he was...

I quickly made my way upstairs so I could shower and change. Christian helped himself to the small mini bar in the corner of the room.

"Don't touch my Vodka." I warned him as I walked down the hallway. "I know _exactly _how much is in the bottle too!" I couldn't help but smile as I heard him laughing behind me.

We took separate cars seeing as we each had different plans for the evening and soon enough Christian pulled up behind me outside of the girl's place so I pulled out my phone and sent her a quick text letting her know we'd be upstairs in a few minutes.

I nearly laughed out loud when we both got out of the cars... Christian looked nervous – really nervous actually. It was a new look...

"She's not going to eat you Christian."

"Really?" This time I actually did laugh when all I saw was his utter disappointment to my comment.

"You're a kinky freak, you know that?" I said as I knocked on the door.

"I'm yet to hear a complaint."

I could hear laughter on the other side of the door and hoped it was Rose who answered. I got lucky...

Her eyes didn't even meet mine before they started going down my body. I knew she had a serious crush on these jeans, that's why I wore them... and I wasn't disappointed by her reaction. There was nothing, well, almost nothing I enjoyed more than watching my girl eye-fuck me.

"You gonna invite us in gorgeous?" I had to stop myself from saying the 'hello' that I wanted to say because if I allowed myself even the smallest amount of her taste, I wouldn't be able to stop. I would need to exercise the restraint that I knew I possessed and wait for a more private setting.

After a quick introduction, I was finally walking my girl to my car. After the last week, I realised how little actual _dating _we actually did, I needed to show her just how much she meant to me. I had thought of taking her to a restaurant for a bit of wining and dining, but after my last effort to do so, I thought staying at home would be a better option.

I pushed down my desire and held her hand on the way up the lift. When the doors opened, we walked calmly to my apartment door. But the instant we walked inside, I could no longer contain my need to have her in my arms.

"Hello my beauty, you look stunning." And she did... When I first saw her at her apartment, standing there in nothing but what looked to be an oversized men's shirt, I wanted to ravish her... I still did, but my need to show my love for her _outside _of the bedroom had to come first.

When she called me 'comrade' again, my cock twitched. Her sassiness lit my fire like nothing else, so her 'Oh yeah, how much?' question was all it took for my desire to have its way... I kissed her within an inch of her life, until I felt her knees buckle and her body surrender...

I finally got to show her that I wanted more than just her body. I really can't remember when I'd had such a great time just sitting at a table opposite a beautiful woman and talked. I was enjoying our time so much that it wasn't until I noticed Rose shifting in her seat that I realised how long we'd been sitting on the hard wooden dining chairs. So I suggested we move out to the lounge room and watch the movie my sister said was good.

I should have known that I wouldn't see the end of it.

I tried to ignore the hand ducking under my shirt...

I tried to ignore the fingers that tickled against my waist...

I tried to ignore the arm that slipped in behind my body...

I tried to ignore the fact that I had traitorous fingers that seemed to have minds of their own and were copying the movements of Rose's fingers at my waist...

I tried to ignore her lips against the skin of my neck...

I tried...

I failed...

My well honed 'years in the making' self control was virtually a joke around Rose. I really didn't know why I even tried to resist her... Who was I kidding, she was impossible to resist, so I decided not to. I decided to do what I'd wanted to do since she opened her apartment door... GET HER NAKED!

When I slipped up and called her Love, I tried to school my expression and show no reaction by keeping my eyes firmly on her body. I don't even know if she realised what I'd said and when she didn't say anything about it, I felt safe in continuing on and I knew exactly how I wanted it to continue... I needed to have her cum on my tongue; I needed to taste her. So I did – and she was glorious!

Next... the chair!

That night I climaxed six times... SIX! I've never orgasmed so many times in such a short time... with anyone before. I didn't think it was even possible.

Live and learn I guess... But I knew there wouldn't be a seventh...

"You need to sleep now Rose." I told her.

"I know, you honestly think that I have the energy for anything else?"

"With you... I never know."

"Well, you only have yourself to blame, you know?" It's you that has made me this insatiable." _I know... _I was still unsure if it was a good thing or not.

"Are you complaining?"

"Never."

No matter what happened from here on out, I would never tire of hearing her express her need for me. I knew that it mirrored my own for her. Now I just had to try and teach her restraint. You know the saying, everything in moderation...

=x=

The next morning I laid beside her watching her sleep. At times like this, it still rendered me mute at just how beautiful she was. Physically, yes, that was undeniable... but it was more with Rose than just her outward appearance. Her soul shone through even when she slept. She was beautiful inside and out.

"Banana's..." she mumbled. I couldn't help but chuckle at her. I couldn't for the life of me think why she'd be dreaming of banana's... "Cucumber..."

"Are you making a salad Rose?" I asked softly.

"Cream..." _Nope, not a salad..._

"What are you doing Rose?"

"Sausages..." _I can see a pattern._

I reached out and gently ran the tip of my finger down the side of her neck.

"Yes..." she breathed as she stretched her neck, giving me better access. Her body arched up off the bed and I gently pulled the sheet that covered her chest, downwards.

I couldn't help the low growl that came out of me as her nipples hardened instantly. I glanced up to find her still sleeping but I couldn't stop myself from leaning forward and flicking the tight little bud with the tip of my tongue.

"Ungh, Dimitri..." she moaned. The sound of my name spilling from her unconscious mouth had me rock hard in the blink of an eye. But what had me salivating like a starved man in a butcher's shop was watching her hand slowly make its way down her body. There was no way I was going to miss this. I gently moved the sheet further down and had to bite the inside of my cheek when I saw the glistening of her arousal.

"Touch yourself baby." I whispered, hoping that some part of her would hear my request. I leant forward again and swirled my tongue around her hard nipple again, all while watching her play... _Holy shit, that's hot! _I wasn't going to be able to stay an observer for too much longer but I wanted her awake when I did anything noteworthy. I pulled away slightly to see her eyes still closed. It was time to up the ante!

I gently moved so that I was on my hands and knees over her sleeping body, one knee in between her legs. My cock bounced in anticipation at every moan and gasp that she made as her fingers slid between the lips of her pussy. I wanted nothing more than to taste her but that would come soon enough. I leant forward and flattened my tongue against the swell of her breast and dragged it slowly upwards. I swirled it around her nipple once before closing my mouth around her and sucked her deep into my mouth. I softly groaned at the sweet taste of her skin and I couldn't help but grin when I felt her unoccupied hand reach up and knot into the hair at the back of my neck...

"Mmm... what a way to wake up." She said moaning. I released her from my mouth and looked up into hungry eyes.

"You started it, Beautiful." I replied smiling.

"Really?"

"MmHmm... All that talk about bananas and cucumbers, cream and sausages... you can't blame me for answering the call... Like to share what you were dreaming of, Rose?"

She did one better than answer with words. She smiled a wicked smile and brought the hand that was between her legs up and ran her glistening fingertips across my lips.

_Oh Fuck! _My tongue flicked out as I grabbed a hold of her wrist. I watched as she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and smiled wider. My eyes never left hers as my tongue came out to her fingers, licking at her sweet arousal that covered them. She gasped as I sucked her fingers into my mouth and my cock cried happy tears.

"Fuck Dimitri..." She moaned. I released her fingers and bent forward to claim her lips with my own but was thwarted when she covered it with her hand. "Morning breath..." she mumbled.

I smiled as a solution quickly entered my mind. I traced my finger along her jaw line to her chin before going down her neck. Her breathing hitched as it continued down in between her beautiful breasts and her muscles shuddered as I passed over her stomach. She knew where I was going next.

Her hips bucked as my fingers came into contact with her saturated yet hot, silky flesh of her pussy. I circled her entrance and flicked her now throbbing clit before pushing two fingers into her wet heat.

"Oh fuck..." she moaned. Her eyes rolled before her lids closed and she pushed her head back into her pillow. I leant forward and took her nipple into my mouth again as I pumped my fingers in and out of her tight body. With a pop, I released her and then brought my fingers up to her open mouth. I slowly wiped my glistening fingers along her plump lips before pushing them into her mouth.

"Suck them baby..." I groaned as she did... "Now we taste the same, no morning breath!"

Fire danced in her eyes as I finished talking and the she reached up with both hands and grabbed my head and pulled me down hard against her mouth. _Oh God, she tasted divine. _Tongues twisted and laved against one another, pulling and pushing into each other's mouths.

"Dimitri... please." She moaned. I hadn't even noticed one of her hands had released my hair until it gripped around my cock and started to spread the pre-cum all over me. "I need you." She whispered against my lips.

Who could argue with that? Not me...

I shifted my position so that I was now completely between her open legs and lined myself up. I moaned as I felt her dripping lips slide over the head of my cock... I couldn't wait to sheathe myself in her, surround myself in her intoxicating scent. Slowly I pushed forward and watched her eyes close and her mouth open as I filled her. Goosebumps spread over her amazing body making her nipples pebble and stiffen further than they already were.

"Oh God..." she breathed as I buried myself in to the hilt. Her legs lifted, wrapped around my waist and then she dug her heels into my backside, begging me to go deeper. I pulled back, bringing myself almost completely out of her before pushing back in a little harder than before. My eyes rolled at the feeling of her insides hitting against the end of my cock! I could only imagine what I was pushing against... "Yes... oh... just there... oh fu..."

We continued to rock and grind against each other, swallowing each other's moans of pleasure. I knew that there was more to what we were doing than just having sex, this was making love... I wanted to tell her, every fibre of my being was screaming it right now, I just didn't know how she felt and I didn't want to scare her away...

My left hand brought her arms up above her head as I continued to rock in and out of her body and held them there as my right hand worshiped her amazing chest. I cupped the bottom of her breast, lifting it up and kneading it before latching onto the stiff nipple and sucking it deep into my mouth.

I could feel the muscles deep inside her start to twitch around me, she was close... I moved over to her other breast as my right hand moved down her toned stomach. We both groaned as my fingers gently circled and teased her pulsing bundle of nerves.

"Cum for me Rose, cum all over cock, Beautiful..."

That did it.

I growled deeply as she clenched tight. "FUCK! Dimitri... Oh..." My grip on her wrists tightened as my hips moved with more determination.

One...

Two...

That's it! I exploded inside as she continued to pulse around my rock hard shaft; her body greedily taking everything I gave her. My heart was about to burst, so I latched onto the skin in the corner of her neck and sucked it into my mouth in an effort to force down the words that wanted to come out...

"Holy shit Dimitri... that was..."

"Intense." I said as I pulled back to look into her eyes. What I saw there made my breath catch in my throat... The emotion in her eyes poured out of her. I could have sworn it mirrored my own.

Could she? Could she be feeling what I'm feeling? I stared into her deep brown eyes and swallowed hard before leaning down and gently kissing her lips. I could feel her heartbeat start to slow against my chest; I smiled as I felt it almost fall into time with my own.

_Soon Rose... I need to tell you soon. But I might try something first..._

I rolled to the side, gently slipping out of her body as I did so and pulled her into my side. "You are... amazing Love." I said as I kissed the top of her head. My eyes closed in wait of her reaction and I smiled as I felt her arms tighten around my body.

"It's all you Dimitri, you make me feel amazing, you make me feel everything."

We laid there wrapped up in each other for a few minutes more before I took us both into the shower to clean up.

"So, what's the plan for today lover... movies or chair?" Rose said smirking as we walked into the kitchen.

"Neither..." I chuckled at the pouty look she gave me. "I thought we'd go to the zoo or the art gallery or if there's something you'd like to do...?"

"Oh... okay, um..." Rose turned away from me and switched on the coffee maker that I set up before leaving to pick her up last night. I knew that once we got home, I wouldn't probably have a chance to do it, so I thought ahead. I couldn't work out if I'd heard something in her voice or not. Thinking about what I'd just asked her, I couldn't see any reason she'd be upset, so I put it down to me just hearing things.

"I understand if you don't want to go to the gallery, seeing as you surround yourself in art all week."

"No, that'd be fun." _There's definitely tone..._

"Is something wrong Rose?"

"No, why?" She asked as she turned around to face me.

"You just sound upset."

"Why would I be upset? I'm happy to go anywhere with you." She walked up to me and placed a chaste kiss against my lips. "But if we're going to look at art, then I need to go back to my place for a change of clothes. I don't think this will cut it."

I looked down and took in her appearance. Personally I loved the little black top she wore... Clips up at the front, zip at the back... multiple points of entry; my type of shirt! But I could see where she was coming from; it probably wasn't what you'd wear to an art gallery. I didn't like the atmosphere I suddenly found myself in, it felt like she was pulling away from me.

"We could always go somewhere else if you'd like, I just thought we could go out somewhere today." I reached for her hand and pulled her against me, wrapping my arms around her waist. "We always stay in and as much as I love every second that I spend with you here, I just thought we could go have some fun _outdoors _for a change. What do you say?"

There was a moment's pause before the beautiful smile I loved the most spread across her face. "Sounds good and really, I don't care where we go as long as we're together."

"I agree." I said before bending down and kissing her the way we're supposed to kiss. The one she gave me before just wouldn't cut it. I held her head in both hands and started it off slow, building it up until I felt her melt into me. "Now _that's _a kiss, Beautiful."

"Yeah, it certainly was." She breathed.

=x=

The day was amazing. We didn't end up going anywhere special after all; we just went to the lake and had an impromptu picnic lunch. We sat close to the water and I had Rose tucked in between my legs; her back to my front and just sat there in comfortable silence. I dropped my head forward as I thought about all the things we'd done and spoken about since coming together, burying my nose into her hair. I couldn't help but debate over letting my feelings out in the open. I knew once I did, there would be no taking them back; not that I wanted to, but I didn't know if she was ready to hear them yet...

"What ya thinkin' about?" She asked.

"You... always you."

"I'm sure you have more important things to think of than me all day."

_Now's my chance..._

"Rose, nothing is more important to me than you." I lifted my head off hers and reached for her chin and turned her face to mine. "You have no idea how important to me you are, do you?"

She looked deep into my eyes for a few seconds before looking away.

"Rose, sweetie, look at me." I said turning her back to me. "I have implied this before, but never actually said the words... but what I feel for you is not just what we share in the bedroom; that's just icing on the cake. When we first got together, I said that my lifestyle wasn't just about a satisfying sex life, my desire to please you runs into every aspect of your life. That hasn't changed."

"I know, I remember. It's not that I don't believe you; I just haven't ever been in this sort of relationship before... I guess I'm just waiting for the other shoe drop, so to speak."

"Mmm, well, the only place your shoe will drop is on my bedroom floor..." I couldn't help but laugh when her elbow jabbed me softly in my stomach. "...but seriously Rose... I know something upset you this morning and the only way for me to help is for you to talk to me."

She took a deep breath before shifting around so that she was now facing me with her legs spread either side of mine. "You'll think I'm stupid..."

"Never."

She let out a sigh as she looked down and started playing with edge of my shirt where it buttoned up. "I guess you could say I let my insecurities run away with me a bit." When I didn't say anything her eyes darted to mine for an instant before looking back down again. "It's just... we haven't been together all that long and it wasn't like it started as anything more than a strong attraction to one another and I just..."

"Just what?"

"I just sometime wonder... I saw you with Tasha, the friendship you have with her. I know you've been with a few other women and I just wonder if you'll tire of me. This morning when you wanted to go out, I just wondered if maybe... I just thought..."

"Rose..." I put my fingers under her chin and lifter her beautiful face up to mine. I had to tell her. I had to let her know. "I could never tire of you Beautiful. I've wanted to tell you something for quite some time but I was a little hesitant. I know we haven't been together for very long and I didn't want to scare you away, but I'm very quickly becoming... _seriously _attached to your presence."

I licked my lips as I watched the expression on her face go from hesitant to understanding to relieved... When I saw that what I'd just said was welcomed, I went a step further.

"I'd even go as far to say that I think I'm falling in love with you."

The gasp came from her lips only seconds before she launched herself into me. _I guess she's happy! _She crashed her lips to mine as she gripped my hair in her hands and moved our bodies together... "Oh God..." she breathed into my mouth. "I thought I was the only one. I didn't want to say anything to scare you away either. I'm so sorry; you must think I'm just this stupid teenage girl."

"Ah, no... Definitely _not_ what goes through my mind when I think about you. I just wanted to take you out today and show you that I want you in every aspect of my life, even the quiet ones spent at a zoo... or sitting lazily around a lake."

Coming home that afternoon, I was pleased to see Rose so much more relaxed and carefree; I was too. I knew that I would still need to reinforce my growing feelings for her but I was good with that; she was worth the effort... I'd reinforce any way she wanted me to. Our feelings were out there now and we were both feeling better for the admittance. Now she had to learn to trust... and I had faith that in the end, I would have it unconditionally.

Is One Of A Kind... I'm Just Not Sure Which One That Is !

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><p>Don't forget to leave me a review, I like to hear what you all think, what you'd like to see happen... etc!<p> 


	7. Chapter 7 Envy

**Hi everyone... I've finally got it finished... This chapter was SO hard to write. Nothing sounded right and it was seriously screwing with my head... Thank you to everyone who talked with me on facebook while I wrote and kept me on track and a big thanks to my wonderful Beta, Deliciouse... You do such a wonderful job and I appreciate the time you put into this... And thank to Sassy for the little one liners... (there's more to come)**

**Thanks to all of my readers, I really do appreciate all the reviews and messages, they keep me going. Anyhoo... on with the show**

**Remember, this is an ADULT story with ADULT words and situations... (if you haven't worked that out by now, then why are you still reading?) hehehe **

**Toodles... Sandy**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 7 Envy<span>**

**Envy: **Is the desire for others' traits, status, abilities or situations.

**RPOV**

"Rose, I'm sorry, but if you want me conscious enough to write meaningful notes for you to steal after class, then I need to go over there and get my caffeine fix. Next time _someone _won't forget to buy the beans when they go shopping!" Lissa said scowling at Mia; she was in a less than favourable mood this morning. She'd come home late last night after spending the whole weekend with Christian – thoroughly and completely shagged, in more ways than one. I, on the other hand was still firmly planted on cloud nine.

"Fine, but we're gonna have to get them to go." I said as we started to cross the road to the small 'Yuppie' cafe near our building. "Had '_someone_' got out of bed at the right time this morning, we wouldn't be running late now... would we?"

"Oh fuck off..." she said smirking. "I didn't get much sleep this weekend you know and I'm aching in places that..."

"OH! Do _NOT_ finish that statement, bitch!" Mia yelled out. "Oh, maaaan...too late. Why'd you have to go put that image in my head Liss? Bloody hell... Do you know how long that's going to take to leave my head now... I need something good to look at and hopefully wash it all... Ooo... that'll do!"

We all stopped outside the small cafe and Liss and I followed Mia's line of sight. I let out a small gasp as I recognised the guy she was currently eye-fucking to within an inch of his life... Adrian. From where we were standing I could only see him, but he was talking to someone that was hidden behind an alcove wall.

"Do you know him? How do you know him?" Mia gushed excitedly.

"His name's Adrian, he's one of Dimitri's patients." Both of the girls knew what Dimitri did for a living so Mia immediately wanted to know what had happened to him but that really wasn't up to me to tell, after all, I didn't know all the ins and outs... I just shook my head as Lissa grabbed my arm and pulled me into the shop. As we walked in, the small bell over the door tinkled and I turned to where Adrian was sitting, what I saw though was not what I'd expected.

Sitting on the other side of the table was Dimitri... and Tasha. As much as she still 'irked' me, I knew and sort of accepted that they were friends.

Dimitri looked up at the sound of the bell and when he realised it was me, the surprised yet happy smile lit up his face... Hoochimama Ozone sitting beside him was forgotten. My heart skipped as I watched him stand up and walk over to us; his eyes never leaving me.

"I'll get your normal Rose." Liss said quietly before walking away. I nodded in reply but couldn't take my eyes off the gorgeous hunk of man in front of me.

"Good morning, Love." He said grinning. 'Love'... it was his new nickname to call me and as much as it scared me when he first said it, the only feeling it gave me now was butterflies in my stomach. His hand tickled its way down my arm before he took my hand in his. He moved our joined hands around behind my back as he pulled me closely into his body.

"Morning handsome." I whispered as he bent forward and claimed my lips. And what a kiss it was... Honestly, if it was physically possible for my toes to curl in the shoes I was currently wearing, they would be! Somewhere in the distance I heard laughter...

I hummed softly to myself as his lips travelled quickly along my jaw to my ear where he played with my earlobe with the tip of his very talented tongue. "You look delectable..." he mumbled against the soft skin. "Tell me you're not busy today."

"Well, only for the first half." I told him once my brain started up again. From my waist down, I tingled...

"Rose..." Mia whispered behind me as she jabbed me in my back with her fingernail. I moaned and rolled my eyes before turning to look at her over my shoulder; she was busy flicking her eyes between me and the table where I knew Adrian was still sitting... couldn't she see I was busy! I decided to play with her... just a bit... she did interrupt some serious lip time after all.

"What Mia?"

I had to stifle a laugh when she tried to get me to introduce her to Adrian in her less than subtle ways. I rolled my eyes as I looked back to a smiling Dimitri; obviously he knew what she wanted too.

"You got something in your eyes Mia?" Dimitri asked with an innocence I could never fake.

"Oh, ah... no, um... who's your friend?"

"_Very _subtle Mia."

"Shut it, Hussy... I think I've waited long enough. If I wait any longer for either of you to find me a man, I'd be the proud owner of false teeth and a walking cane."

"Ah Mia..." I groaned and shook my head.

"What?" She asked confusedly. I motioned over towards the table where Adrian's cane lay on the floor but was surprised by her reaction. "Oh that... yeah, saw that before. So, who's your friend?"

"Rose, give me a hand will ya." Liss called out from the counter.

"Good looking guys can sniff out desperation a mile off Mia; you might want to rein it in a bit..." I said as we all walked over to grab our coffees. I held my hands up in surrender as she glared at me. "I'm just sayin'..."

"Just because _you've_ been screwed more times than a construction zone in the last couple of weeks Rose, doesn't mean that _I'm_ desperate." She said in a not so convincing tone.

"Of course you are sweet sister of mine..." Lissa said smirking. "Wasn't Aaron your last hoorah?" Liss whispered as we neared the table.

"Aaron was many things _sister_, but 'Hoorah' was not one of them. Ho-hum was more his style..."

"Are we always spoken about so casually?" Dimitri asked me.

"With these two? This is tame, sorry..."

He shook his head with a soft smile on his face, probably wondering what in the hell we'd said about him. If only he knew...

"Lissa, Mia this is Adrian Ivashkov, he's a pain in my ass that just keeps following me around. You remember him don't you, Rose?" Dimitri said as we all started to sit.

"Yeah, how could I forget? Good to see you again, Adrian."

"Pleasure's all mine."

"Oh, I know that." I said quickly. "I was just being polite."

"Ha! I knew you were trouble as soon as I saw you. I bet she keeps you on your toes, D..." Adrian said chuckling against the lip of his coffee cup.

"You have no idea." He said as he squeezed my hand under the table. "Tasha, you remember Rose and her friends Lissa and Mia, they take the Life Drawing class at the college."

"Yes, I remember; your work is amazing girls, you should be really proud. I like to take a peek at all the drawings and stuff after everyone had gone, some are more pleasing than others."

"Thanks." Lissa said. "You're Christian's aunt, right?"

Even though she seemed a little on the tired side, sitting opposite me I couldn't help but take in her features. There was no two ways about it, she was stunning. I knew I wasn't bad looking and I'd had my fair share of admirers, but Tasha was beyond 'good looking'... I couldn't stop feeling a little envious of her long black hair that looked like spun silk or her piercing blue eyes instead of my non-descript mud brown ones... Her lips were perfect of course, plump, cupid bow shaped that looked like she'd just been kissed within an inch of her life. All that and I hadn't even got to the most perfect pair of boobs a woman could ever want...

After a quick cataloguing all of her 'better than mine' features, I again noticed how tired she looked, not at all like the confident woman she'd been in class. Maybe that was just a mask that she wore when she stripped for a bunch of college students.

"Yeah, he told me that he was taking you out on Friday night."

"He did..." she said with a huge smile.

"Oh, he took her alright." Mia mumbled under her breath. Liss pretended she didn't hear but Adrian wasn't about to let it go without comment...

"Ow, did you have a close encounter of the 'nude' kind, Lissa?" Adrian smirked.

"I don't think that's..."

"Oh, don't get your knickers in a knot Sweet cheeks; I'm just messin' with ya." He interrupted. I was trying not to laugh out loud at Lissa's shocked expression. Finally, someone who could match her wit... I wonder how he'd do against Mia...

"Talking about knickers... I wouldn't worry yourself about her, Adrian..." Mia said leaning into him. "...she's having more ups and downs today than a hooker's panties..."

Well at least Tasha had a good sense of humour... too bad that it surfaced just when she had a mouth full of coffee.

Just then the door to the shop opened and the bell above the door rang; I glanced over to two guys I'd seen a couple of times around campus walk in but it wasn't them that caught my attention... It was the clock beside the door...

"Oh, Shit! We're late..."

"Oh crap..." Lissa yelled as she looked down at her watch. We jumped up out of our chairs; coffee's quickly forgotten and started to pick up our things. "Mia, come on..."

I looked up to see her busy making goo-goo eyes at Adrian, so I turned to Dimitri. "Can you give him our phone number please? We'll never get her away otherwise."

Dimitri laughed as he watched our two friends before answering. "Okay, only if you're really sure, because once he's got it... you'll never get rid of him."

"He won't be _my_ problem..." I said as I quickly bent down to place a chaste kiss against his lips. "Bye, see you soon."

"Not soon enough." He said with a wink.

_Ungh... I know..._

"Nice to meet you again, Tasha." I said as I stood up.

"You too, Rose. Have a good day."

Lissa and I started to walk quickly to the door but I noticed that someone wasn't with us, so with a huff and a quick roll of my eyes, I went back and grabbed Mia's arm. "Remember what I said before about being desperate?" I whispered loudly.

"Well I wouldn't _be_ desperate if you'd found me someone by now..." she grumbled as I pulled her out the door. As it shut, I couldn't help but take one more look at the man that sent my heart racing and saw Tasha leaning up against him laughing, they both were. I pushed away my jealousy; I knew they were long time friends.

"Oh my GOD! Adrian is _so_ dreamy..." Mia crooned.

"I wouldn't go that far Mia." Liss said.

"Oh, I would. I can say with an almost certainty that he will be the star of my dreams for the foreseeable future. Did you see his eyes...Yummo!"

=x=

"Okay everyone, settle down please." Professor Lazar called out from the front of the room as we slowly sank into some chairs. "Nice of you to make it, ladies." We'd only made our French Lit class by the skin of our teeth, if not unnoticed...

I didn't hear much of what he was saying at first, my mind was still on Dimitri and Tasha and their easy _friendship_; that was until our assignments from last week were handed back to us.

"What the hell..." I mumbled as I looked at my grading.

"What did you get?" Lissa asked leaning over to look for herself. "Eighty-two...?"

"Eighty what?" Mia asked. "Who got eighty?"

"Rose did." Liss said disbelieving... _Yeah, you're not the only one Liss..._

"Rose? Since when do you get grades like that?"

"Never." I grumbled. "I _never _get grades like that. What did you guys get?"

"I got ninety three." Mia said proudly.

"Ninety seven." Lissa said coyly. I couldn't remember the last time my marks were lower than Lissa's, we'd tied a few times but I always got the highest scores... and I most certainly never, never, _never_ got less than Mia... I would have said it would be a cold day in hell when that ever happened... But here I was, sweating like mad... definitely _not _cold but still I felt like I was in my own personal hell...

"Don't over think it Rose." Liss whispered from beside me. "You've just had a lot on your mind lately, that's all."

"A lot on her body too..." I heard Mia snicker from the other side of her sister. Well, if she could be bitchy, so could I...

"More than can be said for you..." I said smirking. I had to bite my lip to stop from laughing when I heard her gasp.

For the next forty minutes I listened as Professor La Zorba the Dick droned on and on about French this and French that... all I heard was French me, French me... My mind still bouncing between Dimitri _on my body_ and the stupid lame-ass grade Lazar just gave me.

By the time we walked out of the lecture, I realised that I should just cut my losses for the day and call Dimitri. I really hadn't heard anything in the lecture anyway, so why waste my time dreaming about him when I could be _having_ him instead.

"_Hey babe, I wasn't expecting you to call this early." _Dimitri said when I called him.

"Well, if you must know, I can't concentrate. It seems I have something else on my mind."

"_Oh really... and what is that?"_

"You..."

"_Don't you have one more class today?"_

"Yes..."

"_And the reason you aren't there is...?"_

I paused for a minute thinking about just how to answer him. "It's close enough to the end of the first half of my day, and as I said, I can't concentrate..."

"_Hmm... You sound eager about something."_

"Funny that..."

The sound of his laughter made me smile. _"So I'm gathering that you're finished for today?"_

"I am."

"_Excellent, where do you want to meet?"_

=x=

As crappy as my day started, I can say with the utmost pleasure, that it got a whole lot better right around lunch time.

"Hello gorgeous." Dimitri greeted when he opened the door to his apartment. And what a sight he was... Denim jeans hung low on his hips, a white wife beater accentuated every muscle that bulged on his torso and his hair hung loose and framed his beautiful yet masculine face. Gush-worthy!

"Hello..." I didn't get to say anything else... It's a little hard to talk with someone's tongue down my throat. I was pulled into his embrace as I heard the door shut behind me and then it was... all hands on deck! We even got wet, in more ways than one.

While hands roamed and disrobed, lips kissed and tongues tasted, Dimitri walked us into his bedroom. "As much as I love the taste of your lips and your skin, there's something else that I need to taste... desperately."

_Oh, fuck...!_

By the time we stood by the side of his soft, king size bed, I stood trembling with anticipation in nothing but my hot pink lacy G-strings... Dimitri stood in front of me with dark, hungry, hooded eyes; his hands ghosted over my shoulders and across my chest before taking my breasts in his hands and bending down to suck one into his hot mouth. My eyes closed as one of my hands lifted and threaded into his long hair.

He made sure that both sides of me were tasted before I felt him start to descend. His hands stopped once they got to my hips, they gripped me tight and I had no option but to fall to the bed. One large hand moved over my stomach and up between my breasts, pushing me back. My eyes closed in the knowledge that he wanted me to just feel... and feel I did.

I felt his fingers circle each rock hard nipple before they trailed down found their way back to my hips.

I felt the slow decent of my underwear as he pulled them down my legs.

I felt his hands on the insides of my knees before they pushed my legs apart.

And I most certainly felt the tip of his tongue as it flicked my throbbing sex.

I felt his arm lay across my stomach to hold my hips down. I felt his lips against me, his tongue, his fingers... I felt everything he did to me.

Then I felt the familiar, tingling warmth start to burn its way outwards from my core. It didn't take long; I knew it wouldn't, Dimitri was a master at this... My body exploded as he hummed in pleasure and pushed his tongue inside of me.

My breathing stopped as my body shook and pulsed. His arm released its hold on my hips before he stood up to cover me where I laid.

I couldn't form a thought in my head... All I knew was that there was a stupid assed smile plastered on my face.

"Mmm, dinner and a show..." Dimitri said smirking while running his fingers over my lips. "... this smile lights up the whole room, but I haven't finished with you yet Rose."

"Oh really..." I breathed out. I moaned in displeasure as he moved his glorious body off mine but when he reached his hand out for me to take, images of the 'wavy chair of wonder' flickered through my brain. I really got excited when he led me into the bathroom... until he walked straight passed said chair!

"Don't pout." Dimitri said snickering as he noticed my displeasure. "Since when have I ever let you down?"

"Never..." I said without hesitation. I followed him around the tiled wall that his large bathtub sat against; now I knew where the shower was! He moved the showerhead to the side before turning the water on that turned hot and steamy within seconds.

"I can't get enough of you, Rose." He said as he pulled us under the soft stream of water.

"I know what you mean."

Further conversation was halted as his arms wrapped around me and his mouth covered mine. His hands wandered before coming to rest on the cheeks of my butt. He squeezed gently before bringing my hips securely against his. My mind was blank but it didn't stop my body moaning in response. The hard yet soft steel of his cock moved against my stomach as he rocked his hips but I was so turned on, I wanted more...

I reached down in between our bodies and wrapped my hand around him; he was _so_ hard. I gripped him as tightly as I dared as I pumped him a few times, my thumb wiped across his head. I would have done a lot more than that but I didn't get the chance...

"Oh God, Rose..." He moaned. He dipped down and grabbed behind both of my knees. I squealed in surprised as he lifted me up and wrapped my legs around his waist moments before my back came into contact with the cold, hard tiles of the shower. "Hang on tight baby." _Oh hell yeah..._

His eyes never left mine as he reached down to position himself at my entrance. There was a second or two of stillness as we stared at each other before he leant forward and kissed me softly once, then twice... I opened my mouth to him and as he claimed it by pushing his tongue inside, he sheathed his cock deep in between my legs. "Ahhhhh..."

My eyes rolled back at the feeling of being completely filled by this man. "Tighten your legs Love." He whispered against my ear. I did what he wanted and my skin prickled as his hands moved upwards from my knees...

Hips rocked as hands kneaded my thighs... inching upwards...

Hips circled in time with his thumbs... inching upwards...

Hips stopped as thumbs found swollen, slick flesh... _Oh..._

Hips rocked once again as hands found purchase, fingers pinched and rolled pebbled flesh... inching upwards...

Hips stopped as my arms were raised above my head. "Ready?"

"Always..." I breathed.

_OH FUCK! _

=x=

I may not have walked into my apartment that afternoon showing any signs of my recent activities, but I certainly felt them... Dimitri was a big man... _everywhere..._ and when he put his mind to it, he made me feel things that I have never felt before and I kept feeling them for hours afterwards too...

"I bet you'd get better grades in Tantric sex than you do in French Lit with all the practical study you're putting in Rose." Mia said smirking.

"Mia... Jealousy is just as bad a fashion faux pas as desperation; it doesn't suit you. But if you must know... I pass _every _test he gives me, especially the oral ones..."

Her face was priceless... "I can't believe you just said that!" She said as Liss choked on her carrot stick. "You don't have to flaunt it you know."

"Don't worry Mia; I doubt you'll have to wait for Adrian too long. Trust me; with Dimitri working him... he'll be ready to go before you know it."

That night, while I took a less than satisfying shower; Adrian called to talk to Mia and they were still on the phone when it was time to leave for the life drawing class. Mia wouldn't hang up and I could hear his laughter on the other end of the line as Liss and I yelled at them.

"Say goodbye Adrian!" Lissa yelled as she struggled to push the 'End' button on the phone.

"Don't you _dare_, Lissa!" Mia yelled as she tried to get away.

"Say goodbye Mia..." We were all laughing now as the sisters struggled with each other over the phone. "Rose, hold her still while I hang up."

"No! Don't go..." Mia yelled down the phone, obviously Adrian told her that he'd let her go. "I don't need to go to this class anyway."

"Oh yes you do, this class was your idea in the first place." Lissa said. "Bye Adrian!"

Suddenly the struggled stopped. "You bitch!" Mia gasped. "You hung up on him."

"No I didn't... I said goodbye. Now, let's go or we're gonna be late."

"I can't believe you hung up on him; watch your back _Sissy dear_..." She threatened with a smile. "I'll strike when you least expect it."

"Ooowww, I'm scared." She said sarcastically. They ran out of the apartment laughing, leaving me to lock up.

"Oh, by the way Rose..." Mia said from the back seat of Lissa's car. "I thought I'd bring this for you, you may just need it." She smiled wickedly as she pulled a hairbrush out of her bag.

"You're hilarious Mia..." Thinking back to last week and our session in the change room, I shrugged and took the offered hairbrush.

"I still can't believe you're wearing that shirt Rose." Liss said smiling. I couldn't either but I wanted to see Dimitri's reaction... I bought it especially for him...

We arrived with five minutes to spare, thanks to Mia's little stint with the phone, so there'd be no 'pre class loving' tonight. I took a quick glance through the small glass pane of the door opposite our class room as we walked up to it but didn't see any movement.

"Hey, Liss... take this in for me?" I said holding out my art bag.

"You don't have time Rose." She said wide eyed.

"I'm not going to _do_ anything; I just want to see him."

"Ah-huh." She rolled her eyes but didn't say anything else as she took my bag from my hands.

"Oh yeah... enable her but don't let me talk on the phone..." Mia grumbled behind me. I snickered under my breath as I quietly pushed the door to the storage room open and walked into the darkness. I saw a sliver of light coming from under the door where I knew Dimitri changed but stopped walking when I heard the mumbling of voices on the other side. I couldn't hear what was being said, but I certainly recognised who was in there by the laughter.

I closed my eyes as my chest constricted... I didn't like the feeling bubbling up inside of me. As much as I didn't want to know exactly what was going on, I just couldn't stop myself from walking closer. I had to know...

"I couldn't believe Karolina when she told me..." Tasha said laughing. _Karolina...? Karolina... Oh, Dimitri's sister. _

"I know, Mama tried to act all upset about it but I could see she was about to jump out of her skin in excitement."

"She seems really happy though."

"She is... Mikhail is a good man."

"Do you think they'll get married?"

"If Mikhail has anything to say about it, they will."

_Married...? Oh...sounds like she's..._

"At least she's nearly at the end of the first trimester, so she should be feeling better soon." Tasha said, I was a little taken back from the way she said it though... There was a certain tone... jealousy...? longing...? sadness...? I couldn't be sure.

"Yeah, I know. She's hidden it well up till now though." Dimitri said; no wonder he hadn't said anything, he must not have known.

"So, what about you?" Tasha asked.

"What about me?" _Shit! _

"Don't play coy Mister... I've known you long enough to know all of your deepest desires."

_Deepest desires? _

"Don't know what you mean Tash."

"Ah huh, you keep telling yourself that, but you know..."

Just then, the door behind me opened up. I jumped and slammed my hand over my mouth as I yelped in surprise.

"Rose... come on." Lissa a quick glance at the door that separated me and Dimitri, I turned to walk towards my friend with a rapid heart. "What were you doing? I thought you wanted to see Dimitri?"

"He was busy."

I sat down behind my easel and stared at the nearly complete drawing from last week. My mind raced with the overheard conversation. Dimitri's sister was pregnant; that much I was pretty sure about. I was fairly certain that was also what Tasha meant by his 'deepest desires'... I wasn't sure at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I knew she meant his desire for children.

We may not have been together for very long, but I knew him well enough to know that he was a family man through and through. He loved his mother and sisters fiercely and I had no doubt he'd protect them with his life if that's what he'd have to do. He was an extremely loving man and there was no doubt he'd want a family of his own... He said he was falling in love with me; would he want that with me? If there was one man on this earth that I could see lying on the ground covered in children with a smile on his face, it was Dimitri.

"Okay everyone..." Alberta called out pulling me back to the present. "I can see that nearly everyone is close to finishing the pose from last week, we'll get the models in and get that done so we can move on. Then I'll let you all out for a bit while we set up for the next pose."

_Oh God... _I shuddered to think what it could be...

The door opened and Dimitri and Tasha walked into the room. Our eyes met and he licked his lips as his eyes went down to the words across my shirt... I nearly melted when he smirked and winked at me. I still couldn't get over how after everything we've done together; he could still make me blush...

"Dimitri, do you remember the pose from last week or do you need to refresh your memory again?" Alberta asked smiling.

"A quick refresh wouldn't hurt now, would it Bertie." He walked in our direction but went to stand behind Mia. "Hmm... I like this, it's very good."

"Thanks, I'm glad you like it." The smile on Mia's face was barely containing the laughter that wanted to erupt. It was the same as the one on Dimitri's face as he took the few steps over to me.

"I like this one too. It evokes so many...feelings" He said behind me and then a second later he whispered at my ear... "So _many _feelings."

I shivered and bit my lip and watched him walk back to where Tasha and Alberta stood laughing with each other. Once again I let out a moan of appreciation when his robe came away, much to the mirth of the others around me. Again, I turned my eyes away as they got into position; this time it was a little easier... but not much.

It didn't take long for me to complete the charcoal drawing from last week and Alberta came to have a look when she noticed. "That's good Rose, but I think last week's pose showed more emotion. With the next pose, I'd like to see something in color. You can choose to do either your oils or pastels, maybe watercolour..."

"I haven't done pastels for a while."

"Okay, whichever you choose." She smiled before taking a quick look at Lissa's work. "That's excellent Lissa. I like what you've done here..." she said pointing to a particular area. They spoke for a few more minutes before she walked back over to where Dimitri and Tasha still sat posed. "Five more minutes people... For those who are finished already, take out a medium that you haven't used yet and set up, then you're free to go outside for a smoke or a cup of coffee. I'll come out and get everyone once we've set up for the next pose."

As I got the trays of pastels out of my bag, Lissa's phone chimed with a message. From the corner of my eye, I watched her face light up and knew instantly who the message was from.

"Do I even want to ask?"

"Probably not..." She giggled. "Have a look at this..."

I groaned as I stared at her, hoping that she wouldn't make me read the text... But she just kept smirking...

_**You rocked my world, Princess. My turn next... XXX C**_

"Princess?"

"That's what he calls me; he said I look like a princess."

"Oh God, I'm gonna puke." Mia mumbled behind me. I couldn't help but giggle.

"Shut it, Squirt... Wait till _Adrian _starts calling you special names..." I was in between the sisters but even I could hear the derogatory tone to that sentence... but before Mia could retaliate, Alberta called out.

"Okay everyone, five minutes is up. Can you all stop what you're doing and move outside for a little bit and I'll come get you all when we're ready."

I looked over to Dimitri quickly and instantly made eye contact. I could get lost in those eyes... But then he had to get me all hot and bothered... His eye quickly moved down to my chest where the words... _'68 You Owe Me One'_ were written and with a raised eyebrow... he started rubbing his very talented tongue back and forth along his teeth...

_Oh God..._

As we all started to go back inside for the final pose of the night, I saw Tasha walking towards us, fully clothed. She looked stunning, as usual. In my head, I knew she wasn't a threat to me but I couldn't help but feel just a little bit envious of all the things she was and I wasn't. Stupid, I know... Even down to the friendship that she had with Dimitri; it was different and more relaxed than what I had with him... I was also envious of all the memories she had of him that I would never have... I didn't like to be the one who didn't know him as well... irrational, I know.

"Tasha," Lissa called out as she reached us. "You're not in this pose..."

"Nope, not tonight. I haven't been feeling well lately so Alberta's giving me a couple of weeks off. You lucky girls, get to stare at Dimitri all by himself..." _Mmm..._

"I'd rather look at Christian..." Lissa muttered. Everyone laughed, even me, but mine was more out of incredulity... Christian instead of Dimitri? Not in _this_ lifetime...

"I'll tell him you said that." Tasha said giggling. "It'll make his day."

"I'm sure it will..." I said. "But I really don't think he needs anything to enflame that ego of his anymore than it already is..."

"Oh, you know him so well already." Tasha said to me.

When we finally walked into the large open classroom, my breath caught... There he was... already in pose, and all I could picture, was me under him...

"Oh shit..." Mia mumbled. "That puts certain images in mind doesn't it?"

"Memories too." Lissa said smirking.

_Memories...? What the...? Oh... eew!_

I sat down and tried desperately _not _to think of me on my back... underneath him...

Looking up...

My hands skimming over the hard muscle of his magnificent chest...

Seeing the burn in his eyes...

The taste of his lips... his skin... his sweat... his... Mmmm...

_Oh God...!_

"Rose... Rose..." I blinked and swallowed hard out of my stupor and looked over to Liss. "Alberta said to start." I followed her head nod to find Alberta staring back at me with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

I shook my head to clear it of the images still trying to pull me under and picked up a stick of pastel and started to draw... As the minutes flew by, I could see it wasn't my best. I knew that I hadn't used this medium for a while, but that was no excuse.

The man in front of me was turning my mind to mush!

Every facet of my life was being turned upside down. For the first time, the girls were getting better grades than me and as much as I was happy that they got good grades, I couldn't help but to always be the best in other people's eyes... no matter what. Every time I looked at Tasha, I saw things in her that I wanted to look like... I looked at other peoples work and wanted to be able to capture what they did, draw the way they did...

Stupid, I know, but for the first time, I was measuring myself against everyone else and it made me doubt things that I'd never doubted before... and that in turn made me want what everyone had and could do that was better than me... As the feeling grew and the time went on, the drawing got messier.

What in the hell is going on?

* * *

><p>Yup... you guessed it... Our favourite Russian is up next... I LOVE his mind... LOL!<br>Oh yeah... don't forget to come on over to Facebook, I put up photos and stuff and chat to people as well... I'm currently playing a 'Words with Friends' game with Sarah... It's a lot of fun!


	8. Author's note

**Hi Everyone,**

**First of all... this is not another chapter... :-( But yesterday I got an anonymous review of this story that I feel needs to be responded to...**

**To "Lily"... whoever you are, at least have the guts to review under an account that can be responded to when you're going to accuse someone of plagiarism... Since you however prefer to hide in the shadows and throw stones, you've left me no choice but this...**

**Get your facts straight! This IS my own work and until your... **_**review**_**... I'd never heard of the story you mentioned. Second, I have NEVER once said that I knew what college or still life drawing classes were like as I've never done either... Hence why I haven't written more about their college comings and goings... This is after all, a work of FICTION, so I've tried to work the 'college' thing into my story as much as I can...(which isn't much) but MY story is about two people coming together under certain circumstances and learning to overcome their 'baggage' to do it...**

**BUT if you took the time to go to my profile page and followed the link to my WEBSITE you would see that I AM actually an artist and have been drawing since I was 12 years old... I am a SELF TAUGHT artist and didn't need to go to school to make my living from it... So, if you want to nit-pick, I DO know what I'm talking about with that... **

**I'm just wondering if you've decided to go through all the 188,689 Twilight fanfiction stories and the 5,216 Vampire Academy stories to see if there are any other authors who have stories of similar content that you can falsely accuse? Or is it just my turn this week...?**

**Get over yourself and get a life... I HAVE not and do not NEED to steal anyone else's work... And I think you are an extremely weak person to accuse me of such things while standing in the shadows of anonymity!**

**Now... to all of the other people who have reviewed this and my other stories, I thank you all from the bottom of my heart and hope to get my next chapter of Fight Back up ASAP! You are all wonderful people and have made me smile and laugh out loud and made the world a better place... You've got me through some dark times with your words.**

**Till next chapter... Bye bye...**

**Sandy**


	9. Chapter 8 Temperence

Hi Everyone, I'd like to say a MASSIVE thank you to everyone who offered their support of me and this story. Second, let me just say that no... I WON'T stop writing. I know that this story came straight out of my head... (Should I admit that? LOL!) Anyway... thanks again, your support meant the world to me.

Now... As I've never been to college, I don't know the procedures that would come with what Adrian is doing... (Not saying just yet), so bear with me and remember 'It's just fiction...

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8 Temperance<strong>

**Temperance: **moderation in action, thought, or feeling; restraint. Considered one of the four cardinal virtues, for it is believed that no virtue could be sustained in the face of inability to control oneself.

**DPOV**

"_Put your hands all over__  
><em>_Put your hands all over me__  
><em>_Put your hands all over__  
><em>_Put your hands all over me_

_I can't seem to find  
>The pretty little face I left behind<br>Wandered out on the open road  
>Looking for a better place to call home..."<em>

I smiled as I listened to the song play that was obviously my new alarm on my phone and my mind went back to yesterday...

_Flashback_

"_Can I play?" Rose asked me as she held up my phone._

"_Of course, do you know how to drive it?" I joked._

"_Oh, I think I can work it out. Is there anywhere I shouldn't be looking?" I couldn't help but smirk at her attempt at 'beating around the bush'... _

"_Nope, I've got no secrets from you, Love. Play away..." She snickered as she wiggled her eyebrows and then went back to my cell... Damn... it was worth a try... _

_We'd been watching a movie after coming back from the lake, not that I saw much of it. My mind had wandered back to where I'd told her that I was pretty sure I was falling in love with her; I smiled once again as I thought about her response... Even though she fell short of actually saying the words, I knew by what she did say that she felt the same as I did... That much I was sure about... While I reminisced, Rose kept playing with my phone. _

"_Holy hell, look at all the songs you have on here."_

"_My younger sister put them all on there."_

"_Cool..." she said in a voice that screamed... 'I'm up to no good.'_

"_What are you up to?"_

"_Nothin'..." Yeah sure... I thought to myself._

_End flashback_

I reached over to my bedside table and grabbed my phone to turn the alarm off and wondered what other ringtones would now be different since Rose got her hands on it. I guess I'd find out sooner or later...

My left arm came out beside me and ran along the cool cotton sheets as I turned my head to the empty side of my bed. I did this for the first time last week and the unconscious act was one of the driving forces behind me telling Rose of my growing feelings where she was concerned. I missed waking up to her beautiful face every day. The mornings that I'd turn to my side and find her there were quickly becoming my favourite mornings and I wanted more of them.

I cracked my neck from side to side before flinging my legs over the side of my bed. It was funny how Mondays were now one of my favourite days... Monday morning's alarm meant that I had six hours before I would see her for lunch; twelve hours before the start of a two hour long silent foreplay between us as she drew my naked body in varying poses.

I loved staring at her and knowing that she was getting more and more flustered by the minute under my gaze. But I'll admit that it's a little hard to keep my 'enjoyment' over her discomfort to a bare minimum... last thing I need is to get an erection in a room full of art students in nothing but my birthday suit! I'd come to see those two hours as an opportunity to brush up on my suddenly elusive self restraint when around Rose...

I'd just walked into the bathroom when I heard my phone start to ring... but it wasn't a song I'd ever used as a ringtone... I couldn't wait to see who was lucky enough to get _that_ song...

_Yeah-e-yeah, yeah-e-yeah, yeah-e-yeah,  
>Yeah-e-yeah, yeah-e-yeah, yeah-e-yeah<br>Cheers to the frickin' weekend  
>I drink to that,<br>yeah-e-yeah  
>Oh, let the Jameson sink in<br>I drink to that,  
>yeah-e-yeah<em>

"Adrian... of course." I said laughing at the name flashing on the screen of my phone. Only Rose would find the perfect ringtone for him... I pressed the button before bringing the phone up to my ear. "Hello Adrian..."

"Good morning, slave driver... Why do you sound so bloody happy at this time of a morning? Oh, don't tell me, the lovely Miss Rose is there, isn't she?"

"For your information Adrian, as much as I don't owe it to you, no she isn't... What can I do for you?"

"Oh, poor you... Be like that, see if I care... I'll get straight to the point shall I?"

"That would be advisable considering I haven't even been to the bathroom yet this morning."

"Oh... shame Miss Rose _isn't_ there then."

"Adrian... Hurry up or I'll hang up on your ass."

"Okay, okay... Gees, you're pissy when you need a piss hey... Are you coming into work this morning?" I chose to ignore his ass...

"No, my first patient isn't until 1pm, why?"

"Well, I was wondering if you weren't busy, that you'd be able to meet me at the college."

"What for?"

"Well, if there's one thing that I've learnt since my accident; apart from the dangers of speeding of course..."

"Of course..." I said smiling.

"...Is that life's too short to do something just because everyone else wants or expects you to do it. When I start classes again, I'm dropping law and I want to change my course studies."

"What to?"

"I want to do what you do."

"Physio?"

"Yeah, I want lay my hands on people and help heal them." I could hear the smile in his voice but I couldn't help but think how good he'd probably be at this. "I don't know how good I'll be at it but..."

"No, I think you'd be great. There's no better therapist than one who knows just how hard it is to fight through the pain. When and where?"

"Um, there's a little cafe on the east side of the college that opens early. I could meet you there in like half an hour, you need a piss and I need caffeine..."

I shook my head. "How about 45 minutes? I still have to shower."

"Yup, that's cool. The cafe's called 'Bean Me Up Cafe'..."

"Oh, that's original..."

"Yeah," he laughed, "...the owners are Aussie's and you know their warped sense of humour... get it... warped..."

"Oh God..." I said rolling my eyes...

I got off the phone before he could say anything else and had a quick shower so I could get ready and leave. Luckily I didn't live too far away from the college and walked into the cafe five minutes early.

"Can I help...y-you?" The girl behind the counter stuttered when she finally looked up at me.

"A long black and a croissant, thank you."

"Ah, yeah sure... um... Do you want the croissant heated... up?"

"No, thank you." As I watched the girl's cheeks flair up in embarrassment, I could hear Rose's comment from last week in my mind about how it's not fair to let loose all my male sexiness on the unsuspecting female population; that sooner or later someone was going to have a heart attack... I couldn't stop the snicker that came out at the memory and tried to cover it up with a few sniffles...

"You know Dimka, she'll stop being so jittery if you just stop smiling at her like that." I turned around laughing at the sound of my friend's voice.

"Where would be the fun in that?" I said as I pulled her in for a hug. "Morning Sunshine... What are you doing here at this time so early?"

"Just thought I'd get out of the house for a while and was on my way to see Christian when I saw you walk in here."

"Well then, what's your poison?" I asked.

"Hmm... I think I'll just have a cappuccino thanks."

I put Tasha's order in with the young girl behind the counter, letting her know to put it on my receipt before we walked over to one of the small round tables. "So now you know what I'm doing here; what are you doing here so early? Or is it a case of going home late?"

"No, get you mind out of the gutter. I'm actually here to meet one of my patients; he wants to change his major from Law to Physiotherapy." Her eyebrows lifted up and was about to ask a question but just then the bell over the door rang and I looked up to see Adrian walk in.

"Hey Big Cheese..." he said grinning. He loved nicknames, so I indulged him...

"Hey Speedy... Grab yourself a coffee."

"Who's that?" Tasha asked me.

"That's my patient... Adrian Ivashkov."

"Is the 'speedy' thing in reference to how he became you patient or the speed at which he wields the cane?"

"Both..." I said getting a giggle from her.

Adrian's eyes flicked between me and Tasha as he walked over to our table, I could see he was checking her out.

"I didn't know we'd be having such fine company this morning Dimitri... Do you have a closet at home that you store all these beautiful women in?"

"Nah, I don't need a closet Adrian... I just treat them like the ladies they are and they keep coming back."

"Ah, is that were I've been going wrong?"

I smiled and shook my head before introducing him to Tasha. Within seconds the 'smooth operator' beside me started working his charm for all it was worth and had us both laughing; it was good to see Tasha smile for a change. I knew that this was a hard time of the year for her, it was only two weeks until the anniversary of Pavel's death but this year for some reason she seemed even more drained than normal.

Just then the bell rang again and I looked up to see my girl being dragged into the cafe. It had only been about twelve hours since I took her home last night but that didn't matter, I couldn't wait to get her in my arms again. I smiled as I stood up from the table and walked over to where she stood.

"Good morning, Love." I reached out and ran my hands down the soft, silky skin of her arms before taking her hands and bringing them around behind her back.

"Morning handsome." She whispered before I bent down for a good morning kiss. I couldn't help myself, but as normal with Rose, the kiss instantly escalated as soon as my lips touched hers. She tasted as good as she looked and I wanted nothing more than to keep on tasting... Surely Adrian could deal with his subject changes on his own... I felt and heard her low hum as I kissed along her jaw to the soft skin of her ear...

"You look delectable... Tell me you're not busy today." I could hear the sound of Adrian and Tasha laughing behind us and knew it was more than likely aimed at our PDA but I couldn't have cared less.

"Well, only for the first half." _Damn! _

"Rose..." My eyes flicked up to see Mia standing behind my girl; her eyes flicking in the direction of our table. I gathered she'd spotted Adrian. _This should be interesting..._

Rose teased her friend a little and after getting their coffees, we all walked over to the table. I admit that I was pleased by Mia's reaction to Adrian's cane on the floor, it was important for his recovery that he not feel like an invalid. A lot of girls her age would have balked, but then again... it probably wasn't _that_ stick she was interested in judging by her comment about some poor schmuck named Aaron...

Rose and I hadn't been together all that long and we'd been around our friends even less, but I must say that I thoroughly enjoy seeing the sassy, snarky side of Rose come out to play... its rather hot! I watched her as she tried to covertly study Tasha on the other side of the table and wondered what was going on in that pretty head of hers.

When the bantering between Adrian and the sisters started, I just sat back and enjoyed the show. Mia was on a roll and finally, though not so subtly, she started flirting with Adrian, who by the way revelled in all the attention. It was then that Rose realised what the time was and that they'd be late for their class. Rose asked me to give Adrian their home number so that they could get Mia out the door... I tried to warn her that it wasn't a good idea but she insisted. She walked to the door with Lissa but I watched in amusement as she realised that she was one friend short...

As we watched Rose pull Mia out the door, Tasha leaned in close to me and whispered in my ear. "God, I thought Mia was about to throw Adrian down on the table there for a minute..." I couldn't help but laugh at the image... though, it was quickly replace with the image of Rose and I on said table... I looked to the front of the store just before the girls disappeared from view; the look on Rose's face took me by surprise. She looked... sad...

"Hand it over slave driver..."

"What?" I looked back to Adrian who had a massive smirk on his face while holding his hand out towards me.

"I heard Rose tell you to give me their number, so hand it over."

"That reminds me..." I said smiling. "Wanna hear the song Rose assigned to you on my phone?"

I got him to call my phone again and when Rhianna's 'Cheers' song started playing, he looked at me in horror!

"What did you tell her about me?"

"Nothing but the truth, my friend, nothin' but the truth."

"Damn... She's gonna warn her friend off me now. Thought you were supposed to be my friend."

"Adrian, I don't think there's anything Rose could say that would make Mia deviate from her chosen path." Tasha said as she giggled. "That girl's hot to trot and she's got you in her sights."

"She's a pretty little thing, isn't she?" He said smiling. "She is legal... right?"

"She's Lissa's twin Adrian, don't worry yourself; she's legal. Why would you worry anyway, I'm sure you've got your own closetful of beauties just waiting for your call. You've probably still got girls from high school hanging around waiting with baited breath." I said.

"Oh D, I totally ruled my high school. I was worshipped and adored—not that that should come as a shock."

"Oh good Lord..." Tasha mumbled as she took a drink of her coffee.

"Adrian, you are nothing if not confident..." I don't know why I was worried about his self image being hurt over any reaction Mia had to his cane...

"It's my one redeeming quality, you should know me by now..."

I finally gave him the girls' number to shut him up and then we finished our coffees. I paid our bill and then all three of us walked out onto the sidewalk. We invited Tash to come with us but she wanted to go see Christian before he headed off to work, so we said our goodbyes and parted company.

"She's a great lady." Adrian said as we walked towards the administration's office at the college.

"No."

"What? Of course she is..."

"Oh, I know she's a great lady, but I'm telling you, no..."

"What on earth are you on about Man Mountain?"

"No, she's not up for grabs so keep your hands to yourself."

"What...? Oh, for shit's sake, I didn't mean that." He said as he threw his free hand up and slightly screwed his face up. "I'm just making a comment. Isn't she well?"

"As far as I know she is; I think she's just tired." I knew what the problem probably was with her, being this time of year and all, but Tasha's past wasn't something that I was about to drag up into common knowledge, especially to someone she'd only just met.

"I like Mia though," he said nodding thoughtfully, "...she seems like a bit of a livewire."

I couldn't stop the incredulous snort that came out of me. "You have no idea... wait till you spend a few hours with the three of them. The first time, you'll come away feeling slightly... dirty!"

"Really...?" I started to laugh at the look that suddenly descended onto Adrian's face... obviously he had no problem with getting dirty... "Dirty you say? Please... elaborate."

"Oh, no... That's for you to experience; wouldn't want to ruin it for you." I said as we finally got to the door of the Admin building.

I reached out and grabbed the door handle, my smile getting wider as he hit me with an almost believable death-glare. Ms Rogers, the admin aide, told us to take a seat while she went to find someone to help. A middle aged man with balding grey hair soon came out and took Adrian into the office he'd just come out of and it was only a little over half an hour later when they came back out; Adrian holding a decent sized folder full of what I expected was reading material... I didn't know how much of a reader Adrian was and by the wide eyes and screwed up face as he walked to me, I would hazard a guess that he wasn't one at all.

"That was quick." I said as we walked outside.

"Yeah, I had to tell him why I wanted to change and all this shit..." he said waving the folder around, "...is all the '_reading'_ he wants me to do..." _Yup... not a reader..._ "I have to go see him again on Thursday to finalise everything if I still want to go ahead with it."

"You do realise that if you change to physio, you'll be reading more than just what is in your hand, right?"

"You're kidding me..." he said dryly before continuing. "I do have a brain in my head D, contrary to popular belief."

"Oh I know Adrian, but you do know that for you to graduate, you'll be required to use the one on your shoulders, right?" I said while trying unsuccessfully not to laugh.

"Prick..." he said taking a swing at me with his cane. Just then I felt my phone vibrate in my jeans pocket a second before a new song started ringing.

_You're quick Rose... _I thought to myself. I didn't think she'd been playing with my phone for all that long, but so far my alarm, Adrian's ringtone and now this one were all new... and by the song, I seriously hoped it was her... and _not _my mother...

Maybe I need some rehab  
>Or maybe just need some sleep<br>I got a sick obsession  
>I'm seeing it in my dreams<br>I'm looking down every alley  
>I'm making us desperate 'cause<br>I'm staying up all night hoping  
>Hitting my head against the wall<p>

What you got boy is hard to find  
>I think about it all the time<br>I'm all strung out, my heart is fried  
>I just can't get you off my mind<p>

Because your love your love  
>your love is my drug<br>Your love your love your love  
>I said your love your love<br>your love is my drug  
>Your love your love your love<p>

"Hang on for a minute Adrian." I pulled my phone out and looked at the name. Nope, definitely _not_ my mother..."Hey babe, I wasn't expecting you to call this early." I took a half hearted swing at the pain in the ass beside me as he puckered up and started making kissing noises at me. After all, I didn't want him to fall on his ass and have to do even more therapy... as funny as that would be to see...

"Well, if you must know, I can't concentrate. It seems I have something else on my mind." _You're not the only one..._ I thought to myself.

"Oh really... and what is that?"

"You..." She said in _that _voice.

One word... that's all it took for my smile to spread. I really don't remember when the last time was that I smiled so much; even my mother had picked up on it. "Don't you have one more class today?"

"Yes..."

"And the reason you aren't there is...?" There was silence for a minute and I pulled the phone away from my ear thinking that it had disconnected, but when I saw that wasn't the case, I put the phone back to my ear.

"It's close enough to the end of the first half of my day, and as I said, I can't concentrate..."

I felt myself start to harden as I remembered why I wanted her to have the day off this morning. I had to think of something else quickly and get myself under control before it became too obvious; I was pretty sure that Adrian wouldn't let something like _that_ go without bringing it up every chance he got for the next year or more...

"Hmm... You sound eager about something."

"Funny that..." She said dryly. I couldn't help but laugh softly at her sassiness; it was one of the many things about her that I loved so much.

"So I'm gathering that you're finished for today?" _Please say yes..._

"I am."

"Excellent. Where do you want to meet?" I flipped Adrian off as he rolled his eyes shook his head at me before making plans to meet her at my apartment in an hour.

I wasn't very successful in my attempts to think of something other than being inside my girl during our short conversation, but I at least was able to temper my body's reaction to the images so the tent in my pants didn't get too 'noticeable'... I should have worn jeans. I walked back to the small cafe with Adrian where my car was still parked but the images persisted and so did my semi...

"Well, I can see you're eager to get to Rose, so I'll be off..." Adrian said smiling. I didn't think that I was that obvious; I glanced down and smiled... Oh well...

"You'd be too if you knew what awaited me." _HA! That shut you up! _I let out a snort of amusement as his mouth dropped open in surprised shock.

"Oh... I'm gonna tell her you said that." The thought of him telling her made me smirk more; I knew it would make her beautiful face flush and that thought got me harder. I needed to get home.

"I'll see you tomorrow at ten, don't be late." I said opening my car door.

"Wouldn't dream of it..."

=x=

It only took me ten minutes to get home, so I went straight to my room to change. With the way I'd been feeling since seeing her in the cafe this morning, I knew whatever I wore wouldn't be on long once she arrived so I just grabbed my old, soft and slightly frayed denim jeans and wife beater. As I waited for Rose to arrive, I fixed up the beginnings of a quick Caesar Salad; all I had to do when we were ready was add the dressing. The whole time I worked, I thought of all the things I wanted to do with and to her; realistically, I knew I couldn't do them all but by the time I heard the knocks on my door, I was rearing to go... literally.

"Hello gorgeous." The sight of her made me sigh; she was truly a sight to behold. I knew after the looks she was giving Tasha this morning that I needed to do more to make her feel secure in our relationship and for that to happen I had to show her that I wanted her... Mind, body and soul... Right now though, I'd show her just how much I wanted her body...

"Hello..." was all she got out before I stepped forward, claiming her mouth with mine. My hands worshiped what my mouth and body would get to later. I pulled her inside my apartment and hard up against my body, peeling her and my clothes off as we made our way into my bedroom.

I took a moment to just take her in, she was so exceptionally beautiful; her body a temple that I wanted to worship for the rest of my days, I just hoped that one day soon she would trust my feelings for her. Tasting her soft, pink breasts was divine; her skin really did taste as sweet as I said it did but it wasn't enough... I had to taste all of her.

Slowly I worshiped her, silently thanking her for coming into my life, for giving me her heart. Every kiss, every touch... I made sure it conveyed my feelings. I knew her body extremely well; I knew how to touch her in just the right way and I watched in rapture as she fell apart in front of me. The sight would be one I would always be in awe of...

As I moved up her flushed and slightly sweaty body, I revelled in her blissed out expression. "Mmm, dinner and a show; this smile lights up the whole room but I haven't finished with you yet, Rose."

Then later, in the shower as I slid firmly into her slick, warm body, I changed my mind and thought that my favourite sight was watching Rose's eyes roll back as we become one. Again, I showed her with my body and my words, just how much I wanted and needed her in my life. When I said that I couldn't get enough of her, I meant it. Her sense of humour made me smile more than I have in years. Her sharp wit sparked a fire within me that made me wake up looking forward to the rest of my life, hopefully with her by my side. Now I just needed for _her_ to know this, deep in her soul.

When we were finally standing at my front door, ready to say our 'till laters', I had to use all my control _not _to call Bertie and say I couldn't come in tonight; all I wanted to do was just stay here and keep her in my arms, but I knew I couldn't so with one last kiss, one that left her breathless and slightly off kilter, we said our temporary goodbye. After all, she _was_ coming home with me tonight after class.

=x=

I had a while to wait before I had to leave for the art class, so I got things ready for when we returned. I wanted to make her feel special tonight...

An hour before I had to leave, my phone started ringing, luckily it hadn't been changed.

"Hello?"

"Dimitri, its Alberta."

"Hey Bertie, how's it hangin'?"

"Oh God..." she groaned. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

"Nope!" I said smugly; she got my meaning...

"Ungh... That's just gross. I didn't call you for porn images thank you very much, Horn dog..." I couldn't help but snicker. "I'm calling to see if you could come in early tonight, Stan called a little while ago to say that his daughter had the baby a couple of hours ago and I'm going to be flying out in the morning so there are a few things I need to go over with you."

"Oh really, congratulations Granny..."

"Shut your mouth Little Man or I'll shut if for you."

I threw my head back laughing loudly, she hadn't called me that for a long time and it was always something that made me laugh. "Yeah sure you will. When do you want me to come in?"

"Now would be good, _if _you're not otherwise detained of course."

"Nope, I'm free as a bird Granny."

"Laugh it up little man; I'm not afraid to put you over my knee you know."

"Oh kinky, Bertie... Does Stan know about this side of you?"

"I'm hanging up now." Again I laughed as the line went dead. She was so easy to rile up and oh so much fun!

Just under fifteen minutes later I found myself walking into the art building, Alberta's car the only one in the parking lot.

"Hello Grand-Ma-Ma..." I said in as posh a voice as I could muster.

"You're not as funny as you think you are, you know _Little Man_?"

"Bertie, you of all people know just how inaccurate _that _nickname is."

"Aaaanyway... Getting back on track, thanks for coming in..." Just then a knock came against the door behind me. Both Alberta and I looked up as she told whoever it was, to come in. I was surprised to see my friend...

"Tasha, you get called in early too?" God, she looks so tired.

"Yes, she did, I asked you both to come in early. What's wrong Tasha?" Bertie asked.

"Just tired; I haven't been sleeping very well lately and it's finally catching up with me I'm afraid." I looked down and images of Pavel and Tasha smiling while holding a baby in their arms flashed through my mind... sadly, images that will never come true. Even after all this time, my heart still broke for my friend over the two families she has lost in such a short time frame. First her parents, then her husband and baby... I wondered how much grief one person could take before succumbing to it.

"Have you seen a doctor? They might be able to give you something to help you sleep." Alberta said.

"I have an appointment tomorrow morning actually."

"Good, that's good to hear. Listen, I was just about to tell Dimitri... I have to go to Pennsylvania in the morning, Meredith, Stan's daughter, had a little girl just after lunch today. Originally he was going to come home and then we were going to go back in a few weeks after this class was finished but I'm too excited to wait. I should be back before next week's class, though if I'm not, one of my colleagues has said she'll stand in for the week and then when we finally do finish this class I'll take a few weeks off and we'll go back."

"That's great Alberta, congratulations."

I smirked while biting my tongue... it just wanted to blurt out 'Granny!'...just one more time. But I thought that if I wanted to keep doing these Monday nights, I should just shut my mouth and by the look Bertie was giving me, she knew exactly what was going through my mind.

"Thank you Tasha." We spent the next few minutes going over the poses that she wanted us to do over the next couple of weeks, just in case she wouldn't be here and then Tash and I went into the change rooms.

"I like Rose." She said without preamble.

"Me too..." I said smiling.

"I know, it's written all over your face. It's been a long time since I've seen you so happy... if ever." I nodded as I realised she was right. "I'm happy for you Dimka; I hope you and Rose have a long and happy life together."

"Thank you sweetie, that means a lot. I just wish... well, you know what I wish."

"Yeah... Unfortunately, my 'happily ever after' just wasn't meant to be."

"You never know, you may get it again one day."

"No... Pavel was the other half of my soul, always will be." She took a deep breath to compose herself and sat up straight. "Enough of that... we were talking about you and your love... So, is she the one?"

"Yes." I said confidently.

Tasha smiled and nodded and I could see she was remembering the feelings that were coursing through me right this minute. "Excellent, I'm glad I got to see it... finally happen." My eyebrow lifted slightly as I tried to work out what she meant by that... it sounded like the last bit was hastily added on.

"Did you doubt it?"

"Dimka, are you going to tell me that up until now you _haven't_ been happy to just float between women who you knew wouldn't want anything more than a casual relationship?"

"No, I'm not saying you're wrong but I also have no regrets. What I will say is that I was never unreceptive to a 'long term relationship' if it came along, you know that."

"Yes, long term maybe but Rose isn't _just _long term is she... she's _'The One'_..." She couldn't help but emphasize the last bit, lifting her hands and doing the air quote thing with her fingers.

All of a sudden, I remembered the conversation I'd had on my cell phone on the way over tonight; my sister had called to tell me she was pregnant and I thought that I'd use this to steer the conversation away from me and Rose for a while. "Anyway... I'm gathering you've spoken to my sister?"

"Smooth subject change there, Buster... Yes, I have... I couldn't believe Karolina when she told me..." She said laughing.

"I know... Mama tried to act all upset about it but I could see she was about to jump out of her skin in excitement."

"She seems really happy though."

"She is... Mikhail is a good man." I'd only met him twice but I could see how much he thought of my sister; his eyes just gravitated to her whenever they were in the same vicinity.

"Do you think they'll get married?"

"If Mikhail has anything to say about it, they will."

"At least she's nearly at the end of the first trimester, so she should be feeling better soon." I looked into the sad eyes of my friend and saw a hand unconsciously go to her stomach. When she realised what she'd done, she quickly pulled it away.

"Yeah, I know. She's hidden it well up till now though."

"So, what about you?" Tasha asked. _Back to me again... shit!_

"What about me?"

"Don't play coy Mister... I've known you long enough to know all of your deepest desires."

"Don't know what you mean Tash." I did really... I loved kids and could see myself surrounded by them. I just knew that that was something that _may_ happen to me in the distant future.

"Ah huh, you keep telling yourself that, but you know I've always thought you'd make a wonderful father."

"Tash..."

"What? I haven't said anything until now have I? Look Dimka, I know you're only young still and your relationship with Rose is still so new, I get it... I do... But I also know how quickly things can be lost." Her breath caught at the end of what she just said and I did understand what she meant...

"Come here Sweetie." She scooted over closer to me and I wrapped my arm around her shoulder as she cried softly for a minute.

"I'm sorry..." she said sniffling. "I thought it would get easier over time, you know?"

"That's what everyone says. I just don't know if it's true. You grieve for as long as you need to Tash, you know we're all here for you."

"Yeah, I know. We need to get ready. I'm just going to the ladies and clean myself up a bit. I'll see you back here soon."

"Okay. The class doesn't start for another ten minutes so take your time." With a nod, she grabbed a robe off a hanger and walked outside.

My heart broke for her and all that she's lost and I couldn't help but think of what she'd said as I stripped off and wrapped myself in my own robe. Life _is _short, it _is _fleeting and we _should_ grab onto those we love and not hold back. And as much as I knew that Rose loved me, I just didn't know if she was ready for anything more than what we had right now, but I could wait – I _would _wait. I'm in love with her; I could do nothing _but _wait.

Tasha knocked at the dressing room door and I smiled at her before we walked around the back way to come through the side door of the studio. "You okay?" I asked.

"Yup... all good."

I knew she'd talk if she wanted to but until then, I had to make Rose see what I saw when I looked at her... my future.

As we walked inside the studio, my eyes immediately sought out the love of my life... _God it sounds good saying that... _I thought to myself. The big number sixty eight on her shirt drew my eyes to her chest and I licked my lips as I read it... "Sassy..." I whispered under my breath. I winked at her to let her know that I most certainly _did _'Owe her one' and would pay up at the earliest convenience; her blush made me smile wider. _Great... now I'm gonna have the image of my face in between her legs for the next two hours. If I get a boner, I'll let everyone know it's her fault!_

Bertie must have seen our exchange and asked if I wanted to 'refresh my memory' of last week's pose... who was I to argue! Plus, if I had to be sexually frustrated for the next couple of hours, so can Rose... I went over and whispered in her ear, leaving no room for any misunderstandings about what I was implying... I had to bite back my laugh as I saw her shiver. By now I was pretty certain that everyone in the room new of our relationship and those that didn't sure had a good inkling...

As the night went on, I could see Rose getting more and more frustrated. I gathered the picture wasn't turning out as she'd planned. When Alberta called that the pose was finished, I helped Tasha sit up and gave my back a quick stretch. If there was one thing these past few weeks have taught me is that it's bloody hard work sitting so friggin still...

I looked up and watched Rose as she talked to her friends, when she looked up at me, I couldn't help but keep her mind right where I wanted it to be... I looked down at her shirt again; looking more at what was hidden rather than the printed words before looking back at her. I lifted my eyebrow and opened my mouth so she could see my tongue run along my top teeth – just in case she didn't understand my acquiescence to her t-shirt proposition earlier in the night.

"Hey Alberta?" I heard Tasha say beside me as Rose and the girls walked outside. "You don't need me for the rest of the night, do you?"

"No Tasha, are you sure you're feeling alright?"

"Not really. I think I'm just really overtired and it's lead me to pick something up, I'll probably turn up with a cold in the next couple of days."

"Probably. Why don't you take the next couple of weeks off and try to get some more sleep, you have staff at the centre that can take over don't you?"

"Yeah, I do... I think I might take your advice."

"I think that's a good idea Sweetie." I said. "With everything going on, I think your body just needs a break."

"Okay," she nodded. "...well, I'll get going, thanks Alberta."

"No problems, I hope you feel better soon."

"Me too, see you later Dimka."

"Bye Tash." I stood beside Alberta and watched my friend walk out of the studio.

"How long has she been like this?" Alberta asked me.

"Not long I don't think, she said she's going to the doctor in the morning so I guess he'll fix her up soon enough."

"Okay, well... you're up my boy..." she said as she flung the red sheet over the padded bench. "How 'bout we go with the pose I was going to get you to do next week? I can hear everyone coming so you may as well get into position."

"Yeah okay..." I said as I stripped once more and got onto my hands and knees.

=x=

"That wasn't very nice you know." Rose said beside me as we drove to my apartment.

"What wasn't Love?" I laughed as she started running her tongue along the edge of her top teeth like I'd done earlier. "Oh, that..."

"Yeah, that... You turned my brain to moosh tonight, thank you very much." _Moosh... cool! _

"Now you know what I'm like when I look at you or get one of your sexy text messages or hear your voice, pick up your scent..."

"Yeah, yeah..." She tried to act all nonchalant, like what I said didn't mean anything but she couldn't hide the smirk at my words.

On the ride up to my apartment, I made sure that I stood close behind her without touching her. Even though I didn't look up, I knew she was watching me in the reflection of the doors as I ran my eyes over her body in front of me; I also made sure that I licked my lips for good measure.

"I know what you're doing." She said as I bent forward to breathe in her scent.

"What am I doing?" I asked as I reached up and pulled her long, silky mane away from her neck. I bent forward a bit more and just before I touched her skin, I lifted my eyes and looked at her in the reflection. When she didn't answer, I grinned and closed the distance between my mouth and her neck, swirling my tongue against her soft skin.

"Oh God, you do that well." She murmured. I instantly felt her skin flush with heat.

I couldn't help but smirk... "There's something else I do well you know, want me to show you what that is?"

The doors to the lift opened and she pulled away from me, walking out backwards with her own smirk and then she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. _Yup... that's all it takes... _

I strode out of the lift before she even saw me move and scooped her up and over my shoulder. "Ahh... Dimitri!..." she laughed. "Put me down..." _Oh, I'll put you down alright Rose... _I clasped my arm around the back of her knees and held her tight as I unlocked my door and walked inside. As she continued to laugh and slap my ass, I walked with purpose to my bedroom where a certain piece of furniture awaited...

After closing the door, I slowly pulled her down off my shoulder but when her beautiful face was level to mine, I held her tightly in my arms.

_I need her to know... _

"I'm in love with you, Roza." I'd never called her this before, but I'd thought it numerous times...

_Breathe baby... _I thought as I watched her eyes fill. With a blink, one tear fell from each eye... I really hope they're good tears. "I love you too." She whispered. My heart thumped as I finally heard her say the words... I hadn't realised just how much I'd wanted her to say them until she did.

Slowly I let her slip down to the floor and I held her face between my hands moments before I pressed my lips to hers. Her arms came up and wrapped around my neck as my hands went down to her hips, pulling her hard against me. Her tongue slid along my bottom lip and I answered her by pushing mine into her mouth. I wanted to taste her everywhere. Her moans were going straight to my cock, but tonight wasn't about me, it's about her.

My hands grabbed a hold of the hem of her 'propositioning' T-shirt and started to pull it up, our lips only parting long enough to remove it. I moved us slowly to the Tantric chair as I took her lace covered breast into my right hand. When I felt us come up against the high end of the chair, I reached around to her back and felt for the clasp of her bra then slowly slipped the straps over her shoulders.

"I love everything about you Rose. I look into your eyes..." I did as my thumbs brushed over her now hardened peaks. "...and I see the fire in your soul, a fire that ignites my need for you." My hand came up to the middle of her chest and I gently leaned her backwards before taking her nipple into my mouth. As I held her at the back of her neck with one hand, the other came to the button of her jeans.

"When I see your body," I said as I kissed my way up to her ear. "I just want to bury myself inside of you and never leave. I want to kiss..." and I did... "and suck..." and I did... "and..."

Our eyes locked for a second before I pushed my tongue into her open and panting mouth. I moaned loudly when she took it in and started to suck... hard!

_Oh God... It's all about Rose... it's all about Rose... it's all about Rose... _I said over and over.

I made quick work of her zipper and pulled away from her so that I could get her out of them _and_ take a few seconds to compose myself. My self-control was always flying out the window around her...

I fell to my knees and placed a kiss on her beautiful stomach that was now on show through the open zipper. Slowly I pushed her jeans down her soft yet toned legs.

"And when I smell... this..." I said as I brushed my nose against the lace that covered her. "...it makes me as hard as a rock to know it's all for me."

"Ungh..." I could hear her breathing become deeper, and I could see how wet my words were making her. I sat back onto my haunches as one by one; I lifted her feet to release her from her jeans. I got back up to my knees and started kissing her stomach again as my fingers grabbed onto the sides of her panties and pushed them down. Even though the lace of her panties was only thin, her scent was so much stronger now that they were gone.

I stood up and placed feather soft kisses onto her lips before supporting her as she laid her body nearly upside down against the high end of the chair; her dripping centre was on full display at the highest point. "Beautiful..." I whispered as I once again went to my knees. I placed one of her feet on each of my shoulders and I grabbed onto her hips as I leant forward to kiss her wet and engorged clit.

I wanted to 'savour the flavour' as Adrian had so eloquently said one time, but I found after hours of _'68 You Owe Me One'_ and the fantasies those words conjured up, I just couldn't hold back. I closed my eyes as my tongue pushed into her. It didn't take long before her breathing stopped and her body clenched as her orgasm took hold of her. But still I didn't stop...

I knew from conversations we'd had that Rose had found 'other means' to get her through any dry spells she'd gone through so I knew she wouldn't be opposed to what I was about to do next... I reached over to the towel that I'd layed on the bed before leaving earlier this evening, quickly retrieving the little toy and then stood up to help Rose to sit back up.

"I'm not finished yet, Love. Come on, I've got a present for you."

"What is it?" she smiled.

"You'll find out."

I led her over to the bed, even though she didn't want to leave the chair, and soon had her situated in the middle. Before joining her, I stripped my shirt off but stayed in my jeans.

"Don't I get to see the rest?" Rose asked me.

"We'll see... Tonight is about you Rose. I want to worship every inch of you."

"You can, but I want to feel you inside of me. I don't want a night on my own, even if it is at your hand... Make love to me, Dimitri." she whispered as she held out her hand.

_How can I refuse a request like that! _As I knelt up onto the mattress, one of her hands went to the top button of my jeans but I didn't get a chance to make my way closer to her before she reached up and pulled me down in between her legs. I had to quickly brace myself before my full weight landed on her.

"Make love to me..." she whispered once more against my lips.

"Roza..." I growled before attacking her mouth. She moaned as my tongue came into contact with hers; her taste still lingered... I felt her hands move down in between us.

One...

Two...

Three buttons of my fly popped open and then desperate hands pushed at the last barrier between us... I tried to help but when she lifted her legs and hooked her toes into the sides of my jeans, my eyes rolled back into my head. She knew I went commando more often than not, so my pants didn't have to go far before I was free and sliding against her.

"Dimitri... please..."

"You never have to beg Love." I said as I finally got naked... I gripped my cock, positioning the head at her entrance while slowly coating myself in her arousal. "I want this Rose, I want you, I want us... I want..." I was hesitant to say much more and get myself into trouble. Once those words were out there, there would be no taking them back and I didn't want to scare her off... Inch by inch I pushed my hips forward until I was fully enveloped in her heat.

"Ohhh..." she moaned beneath me as I filled her. I kissed her deeply as our bodies rocked against each other. Her legs wrapped around my hips; holding me closer with each thrust I made. I shifted slightly to one side, putting all my weight onto one arm as the other found her breasts.

I made love to her with my mouth, my words, my body and I knew instantly when her body was nearing the edge of another climax... Tighter and tighter she became until her breathing stopped and her body arched up. Over and over her body pulsed around me, bringing me to my own release, now was not the time for holding back.

"Hell... that was... wow..." Rose said breathlessly as we came down together. _Yeah... _I went to roll off her body but she held me where I was, her eyes locking with mine... "Finish what you were going to say..." she said.

"When?" I asked... I couldn't remember anything right now and I didn't know how she could!

"You said, 'You want me, you want us' and then you said... 'I want...' but didn't finish your thought. What do you want Dimitri?"

Do I tell her and run the risk that this is too much, too soon and scare her off? By the look in her eyes though, I would swear that she knew what I was going to say and wanted me to voice it... _Here goes... _"Forever... I want forever Rose." My heart jumped when her beautiful smile lit up her flushed face... _She's not running; that's a good sign. _

That night, we didn't go to sleep until nearly 2am. After my admittance, we showered and pulled on our robes before we went outside to eat the cold chicken salad I'd prepared for dinner. Then, taking a glass of wine each into the lounge room, we sat and talked.

By the time we finally slipped in between the sheets of my bed, I really felt as if I'd cleared a lot of her insecurities up where my friendship with Tasha was concerned. I told her about my sister's pregnancy and she surprised me by asking if having children was something that I wanted... I had to be truthful.

"Yeah, I love kids; I've always seen them in my future. It's hard not to when you're brought up in such a close knit family but I'm still young, I have plenty of time before I have to think along those lines. What about you? Do you want to have kids one day?"

I think I stopped breathing as I waited for her answer. She looked me dead in the eye and reached up to cup her hand against my face... "I'd love nothing more..."

The intensity in her voice was so strong; I couldn't help but kiss her again before enveloping her in my arms and tucking her in under my chin... "I love you so much Roza."

"Roza... I like that." She said quietly. _Me too..._

"I never thought people could fall in love so quickly, but I have."

She moved her head and I felt her lips press against my neck. "I know what you mean, I should be scared, but I'm not." She said pulling back further so we could just make out our faces in the soft moonlight that filtered into the room. "It feels..."

"Right..." I finished. I saw her smile before she snuggled in close once more. I heard her whisper 'yes' just before she yawned and it only took a minute or two before I felt her body relax against mine as she fell into sleep. "I want you forever Rose." I whispered into her hair. I kissed her forehead and closed my eyes, hoping that my dreams would show me the future I now wanted to create.

Moments before I drifted off, I wondered what tomorrow would bring. I only hope that Rose truly believes that she is all I need, all I will ever need... Now that my heart had been laid out in front of her, I would start on showing her how to temper her desires, her needs... I could probably do with a refresher course myself...

* * *

><p>AN: Songs used are... 'Hands all over' by Maroon 5 and 'Your Love is My Drug' by Kesha... I think that's all?


	10. Chapter 9 Greed

**A/N:** _First of all, let me say a huge sorry for taking so long to get back to this story..._

_I've had a lot going on in RL and I also needed a little break. Somehow I think Rose and Dimitri were a little upset with me for choosing to put them on the back burner so they decided to take a holiday with my muse for this story... and didn't tell me when they'd be back! How Rude!_

_Anyway, they seem to have forgiven me now and are happily telling me their story once again..._

_Just a little re-cap of the last chapter!_

_Adrian called asking Dimitri if he'd go to the college with him so that he could change his major from Law to Physiotherapy. He met with Adrian at the coffee shop where they ran into Tasha. The girls also came in on their way to class and Mia met Adrian for the first time._

_Dimitri gave Adrian the girl's number so that he could call Mia. Rose couldn't concentrate so took the rest of the day off and went to meet Dimitri at his place before art class. Alberta became a step-grandma. Dimitri & Tasha came in early and spoke of Karolina's pregnancy, (that Rose overheard) and then did a couples pose. Rose wore the '68 t-shirt. After class, Dimitri tells Rose he's in love with her & calls her Roza for the 1st time. They made love and afterwards, he told her he wants forever._

_This chapter is dedicated to my wonderful friends __**Angela Masson**__ and __**SassyNoles**__... Without you two, this story wouldn't be half as naughty! :-)_

_Now, hopefully this will work and it will upload!  
>On with the story!<em>

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 9 Greed<span>

**Greed: **the desire for material wealth or gain, ignoring the realm of the spiritual. An inordinate desire to acquire or possess more than one needs.

**RPOV**

"_Forever Roza; I will love you forever, trust me when I tell you this."_

For the last week, these words or ones very similar have floated around in my head at every opportunity. Tuesday, I could hardly remember what happened in my classes. I think the girls realised that something big was on my mind and being the friends they are, they didn't pressure me to 'talk it out'...

I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Dimitri meant it when he said that he was in love with me; I knew because of the way he looked at me, the way he touched me, the way he _made _love to me... But no matter how much I knew the truth, I couldn't help but want to claw Tasha's eyes out whenever I thought about her.

I _liked_ the woman... she really _was_ a nice person. She had to be for Dimitri to think so much of her, but that knowledge didn't drown out the years of self doubt that my parents had planted into my brain...

My mother's favourite sayings were... '_You'll never be anything Rose.'... 'How do you expect to keep a man dressing like that?'...'Caught kissing again Rose? I always knew what you'd end up.'... 'You're just like your father... good for nothing.'_

My father's were... _'Why am I not surprised that you can only get a B.' ... 'I see your dress sense is as upscale as your mothers.'... 'You're lucky you've at least got a nice face, so you won't starve.'... 'You're so much like your mother, nothing but a slut.'... _

That last comment was said the last time I spent any time with my father before they split, I was ten... Their confidence that I'd end up anything but worthless, was the one driving force in my life from that day on. My self-worth may have been in the gutter, but I developed quite the exterior mask early on in my life... A mask of determination, of confidence... Looking back now, I could also see how their verbal abuse made me greedy as well.

I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that no matter what I did, it would never be good enough for either one of them, so I went looking for other people to impress... Teachers, well... some of them anyway, fellow students, Lissa, her family... And the harder I pushed myself, the more I seemed to impress. For each of them, I had a different mask. To the kids at school, I was Queen Bee... I was tough inside and out; no-one and I mean no-one took me on. If they weren't afraid of my fists, they were afraid of my mouth... The teachers didn't exactly love me, more like they tolerated me because I kept good grades...

To Liss and her family, I was still tough but the bitch took a back seat most of the time. I was protective of the people I loved and I would die for the Dragomir's. If ever I felt that something or someone threatened what was mine... I immediately went on the defensive... _No-one _would _ever _take someone I loved and respected away from me...

I guess that's something that I will always carry with me. Even when I know it's not warranted.

The last lecture of Tuesday was cancelled due to something with the professor, so I took the opportunity to text Dimitri...

_**Can I see you? R xxx**_

I knew I was being stupid, I knew I was feeling clingy... I just couldn't stop it. I waited and waited for a reply but just as I was about to give up, my phone chirped with a message alert.

_**Always, when? D 3**_

I snorted when I saw the end of his message... Dimitri was trying to be 'hip' again with his little heart...

_**Now?**_

I was feeling... twitchy. My skin felt like... I wasn't sure. I just felt, all over... weird!

_**Come to work in 20. R u Ok?**_

I squirmed... It was like he could read me even when I wasn't in front of him. He always knew when something was wrong.

_**I'm just feeling all out of sorts, need a hug.**_

_**Lucky, I have 2 arms that need someone to hug.**_

_**Cheesy Dimitri, very cheesy!**_

_**You're wasting time, 15 mins! Move it!**_

_Oh, I love an in charge Dimitri! _I hadn't even realised I was still sitting on the bench. I smiled for the first time today as I stood up and threw my bag over my shoulder.

_**Moving... C u soon. X**_

As I walked I quickly scrolled down to Lissa's number and text her that I was taking the rest of the day off. She and Mia were at one of the two different classes to what I took, so I didn't expect a reply.

I didn't quite make it in fifteen minutes and the closer I got to the hospital, the worse the 'crawling skin' feeling got... By the time I walked into the Physio wing, I was almost desperate to feel his hands on me. I didn't care where; I just knew I needed to feel his touch.

I was pretty sure I was going crazy!

I walked up to the front counter and put on the best smile I could muster up... "Hi Rhonda."

"Rose, are you alright sweetie?"

"Yeah, just having a bad day."

"Dimitri told me to give you this and then to meet him at his car in the staff car park on level two. He was called up to a patient on the third floor but said it wouldn't take long."

"Oh, okay... thanks Rhonda."

"No worries." Just then the phone beeped, stopping any further conversation. I took the note she'd given me and opened it up, a small silver key fell out...

_Hey Beautiful, I'm finished for the day when I get back. If you want to grab my  
>things from my locker, I'll meet you at my car. Level 2, down the end on the<br>left hand side... can't miss it!  
>Love you... Dimitri.<br>_

Huh... No, definitely can't miss _his_ car! I walked through the door that I knew led to the staff room and walked over to the locker I knew was Dimitri's. I unlocked the small padlock with the key from the note and grabbed his car keys, wallet, jacket and phone before relocking it and walking back outside.

"Bye Rhonda." I called out. She was still talking so just sent me off with a wave. It didn't take me long to find Dimitri's huge black Hummer, I could see it as soon as I opened the door to the car park.

I'd been sitting for a few minutes when I picked up Dimitri's phone with a smile... "Time to change some more ringtones..." I said to myself. Scrolling down the contact list, I looked for someone that I knew, unfortunately, the first one I came across was Tasha.

Ringtones were forgotten as curiosity got the best of me...

I looked towards the door to the car park... but I was still here by myself.

"Don't do it Rose... You know you shouldn't!" I whispered to myself.

But then Dimitri's voice suddenly popped into my head... _I've got no secrets from you, Love. Play away... _I battled with myself for a few seconds more before I looked back to the door once again... He still wasn't coming, so I turned back to his phone and went to his messages...

I smiled as I saw my name at the top of the list...

Then Christian's name...

Then his mothers...

All of a sudden, the phone started to vibrate in my hand. Another message...

Tasha!

I knew I shouldn't, but I just couldn't stop myself. I opened it up and read the message.

_**I know you're not seeing Rose 2nite. I need to talk, its important. Call me. T XXX**_

_Important... Important, how? Not important enough._

DELETE

My heart stuttered as I watched the message disappear. I knew it was wrong but _I _needed him tonight. _I _needed my boyfriend. Just then I heard a soft thud and I looked over to see that Dimitri was walking towards the car. Without looking away, I quickly pressed the button to bring me back to the main screen of his phone and put it in the centre console.

I smiled as he approached, the 'crawling' feeling that I'd had all day only intensified with each step he took towards me. I couldn't wait any longer. I turned to my right and opened the door, jumping out and circling around behind the Hummer before running towards the man who owned my heart.

He opened his arms only moments before I jumped into them. "Hey Beautiful." He greeted as I buried my face into his neck; his scent immediately starting to calm me. I wrapped my legs around him and I moaned softly as his hands ran up and down my back while still holding me tight against the hard plains of his body.

"This is _exactly _what I needed."

"Glad to help babe." I could feel my heart thumping as we continued to stand in the middle of the car park. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah... I am now."

I felt him pull away and I looked up into his stunning face. "What happened today?"

I unwrapped my legs from around his waist and slid down his body before steering us towards his car; me trying to put my thoughts together in my head as we walked. "It's just a bad day." He pulled me into his side and kissed the top of my head.

He didn't try to get me to talk on the drive back to his place; he just put his hand on my leg when it wasn't needed to drive with and snuck peaks at me every now and then. Silently we made our way up in the elevator. I could see the love in his eyes as he checked me out in the mirrored doors. I couldn't help but laugh as he smirked and wagged that sexy, single brow at me... He knew damn well that it annoyed me that I couldn't do it back. I think he just wanted to get me to smile.

He unlocked the door and followed me into his apartment. I didn't get far before he lifted me into his arms and started walking down to his bedroom.

"Are you going to make it all better?" I asked not so innocently.

"Yes, I am."

"Goody!"

I got even more excited when I realised that he was heading into the bathroom... where the eighth wonder of the world resided... the Chair of Wonders! That was until he walked straight past my favourite piece of furniture.

"Stand here." He said as he put my feet to the floor. "Don't move."

_Yup... Master Dimitri is in the house! _"Wouldn't dream of it."

He smiled as he moved to the huge bath tub. The smell of the lotion that he added to the water soon permeated the whole room. Lavender and... Vanilla? It was soothing whatever it was. My breath caught when he turned around and his eyes settled on me. It was in moments like these that I still had such a hard time with... Looking at this almost perfect man, a man who could have _any _woman he wanted, and he wanted me... I just couldn't wrap my head around it sometimes. I knew I was pretty, my parents had both told me that, even if it was in a derogatory way, but I also knew just how damaged I was too. Why a man such as Dimitri would want me was just... too much to comprehend at times.

Without saying anything, he reached up and pulled his shirt off from the back, like all guys do, next I watched as he unbuttoned his denim jeans. I knew that coming straight from work would mean that he had boxers on underneath instead of his normal 'commando' style, but I certainly wasn't complaining.

Once he was relieved of all his clothing, he stepped closer to me and with a soft smile, he slowly undressed me. Of all our moments together, this was one of the most sensual and caring things he's ever done. It wasn't because we were about to make love, it wasn't because of some sort of fantasy, it was just him taking care of me and my heart shuddered at the gesture.

He helped me into the tub and then turned off the taps before slipping in behind me. I could feel the pent up stress I'd been feeling all day suddenly fall from my shoulders as he lifted me to lay completely on top of his body; my head laying against one shoulder.

"I'm glad you texted me," he said as he kissed down my neck, "...I miss you on the nights you aren't here."

"I miss you too."

"Did something happen on campus?" he asked gently.

I shook my head slightly, "No, not really. I guess I'm just having one of _those _days."

"And what would one of _those _days entail exactly?" I had hoped he wouldn't ask, but then it shouldn't surprise me that he did...

"Stupid girl moodiness..." I said with an annoyed huff. I knew I was being stupid; the highlight of today's stupidity culminating in deleting a message from his phone, a message I had no right to even look at let alone delete. His silence only made me feel as if I should say something more. "You know I love you, right?"

"Yes."

"And I trust you... it's just..." I didn't know how to put everything into words, to explain.

"Just what? Do you doubt me when I say that you mean the world to me and that you own my heart?" _Shit... I feel like such a failure... I HATE that feeling... _

"No..." I said around the lump in my throat. So we lay there, in the water as I told him what my childhood was like. The only other people who knew even half of what I told him, was Lissa and Mia. But once I started talking, I found myself saying things that I'd never told anyone before.

"...they've never loved me..." I whispered, "...parents should love their children, but they never did. Their careers always came first; before me, before each other..." I had to take deep breaths to try and control the emotions swirling inside of me. I couldn't understand why after all this time; this shit was still getting to me.

"Oh Roza..."

As soon as his hands started to move around my body in an embrace meant to comfort, I knew that that wasn't what I needed from him right now... I needed him! All of him... I wriggled, and then repositioned myself so that I was facing him. "I don't want your pity for the shitty life I was given. I rose above it and I'm making something of my life."

"I know you are, and I couldn't be more proud of you. What you heard was not pity, I'm just sorry that you were dealt the hand you were, no-one deserves that... least of all you."

"Hold me?"

He pulled me down so that I lay completely over the top of him, my head tucked under his chin... We laid there for a minute or two before I moved so that I was in a more comfortable position and then lifted my head to look up to him. I needed him, I needed to lose myself for just a while... I leant forward, stopping a hairs breath away from his lips.

I'm not sure what he saw in my eyes, but I'd hazard a guess it was exactly what I was feeling... He closed the gap between us, taking my top lip between his. Without me thinking about it, my body moved of its own accord; my hips rolling against his. With that simple movement, I ignited the passion that was a constant hum between us.

Dimitri's hands slipped into my hair, tilting my head to one side before deepening the kiss. His tongue entered my mouth, caressing my own in much the same way as one of his hands was now doing to my body.

Slowly our bodies rocked against one another until Dimitri's strong hands slid up my sides, gripping my body and moved me into position. "I love you so much." I whispered.

A slow smile pulled at his lips as he cupped my face. "As I love you." My heart jumped at his words... I believed him, I trusted him... I just didn't trust anyone else. He kissed me again as a hand came to my hips, the other guiding himself to where we both wanted him to be.

We both let out similar sounds as our bodies came together... _This _was _precisely_ the connection I needed. Slowly, our bodies slid against each other, our hands and mouths doing all the talking. Second by second my body climbed higher... I knew Dimitri's stamina, he could hold on like no-one else, but I wanted to feel his release... "Cum with me..." I whispered against his lips.

Those three words seemed to let him loose... His grip on my hips tightened as he guided my actions with more fervour. His thumbs pushed against the front of my hip bones, literally tilting my pelvis backward, as he thrust hard up inside of me... He hit _that _spot... the spot that made me see stars... Once, twice... third time's a charm...

"Oh... oh, yes... oh... God..." I mumbled as my body clenched around his. I could feel him twitching inside of me, giving me exactly what I wanted. Once my brain started working again, I realised just how cold the water had become. I looked up from where my head had dropped against his chest to find him looking directly at me.

"Feeling better?" I grinned and nodded smugly. "Come on, let's get cleaned up." Dimitri said chuckling softly. He shifted, pulling himself from my body and with some manoeuvring, had us both standing in the bathtub.

"I thought we..." I started to say before realising that he was leading me into the shower... He said nothing, just smiled... True to his word, the shower was just to 'clean up'... although; he did an amazing cleaning job.

"I would like to do something tonight." He said as he led me into his bedroom.

"And what's that?" I was a more than a little hopeful...

Smiling deviously, he walked over to his cordless phone and picked it up. "Call Lissa and Mia and ask them to come to dinner with us." _Huh? That is SO not what I had in mind... _He must have seen the look on my face. "Have I ever let you down, Love?"

"No..."

He nodded and held the phone out to me before I took it and dialled home. I hadn't actually thought anyone would answer, I thought both girls would be busy with their new 'other halves'... The phone only rang twice before it was answered.

"Hello?"

"Hi Liss, hey listen, Dimitri wanted me to ask if you and Mia wanted to come to dinner with us?"

"Really?"

"Yeah..."

"They can invite Christian and Adrian too if they'd like." Dimitri said, still smirking. I knew that smirk... he had something planned.

"Did you hear that?" I asked.

"Yeah, hang on; I'm just calling Chris now." I could hear that she was telling Mia what was going on at the same time. Soon I could hear her talking to her recently acquired Siamese twin and wondered if she'd even remember that I was on the line waiting...

"Yup, Chris and I will be there. Where and when?" She asked.

"We'll be there too!" Mia shouted in the background.

"They want to know when and where."

"How about Bellagio, 7pm?" Dimitri suggested. I nearly choked on my tongue... Bellagio just happened to be one of the most up market restaurant/nightclubs in town. Only those with money to burn went there... Liss of course heard what Dimitri said and started screaming down the line, obviously she was in agreeance. Dimitri heard the screaming, nodded and walked away into the large walk-in robe.

"That is sooo cool!" Lissa exclaimed. "Mia & I will be at Dimitri's in... forty-five minutes; I'll bring your things." Then the line went dead.

"Bye to you too." I muttered to the now disengaged phone. I made my way over to the walk-in and watched as Dimitri slipped into my favourite, well worn denim jeans... sans boxers. "Well you've made a friend for life."

He turned to look at me and smiled. "Well, I promised date nights and there's no time like the present. Here..." I watched as he pulled one of my dresses off the rack.

"When did you get that?" I asked him; I hadn't even missed it from my closet. He just winked before he took the few steps between us.

"I have my ways... Put this on." He bent down to kiss my forehead before he grabbed a button up shirt and walked around me, slapping my ass on the way. He was in playful mood... Well, two can play at that game. I followed him back into the bedroom and dropped the towel that was around me.

I didn't miss the double take from Dimitri, nor the hunger as his eyes took in my naked body. That one look was all it took for me to forget about the red lacy dress in my hand and the club we'd planned on going to. He looked up into my eyes and knew exactly what was going through my mind. "No, Roza... get dressed, I'm taking you out."

"Why..." I pouted and whined. I slowly made my way over to him as I spoke. "I don't need to go out, I'd much rather stay here and do wicked, wicked things to you." His warm laughter spread through me, heating me up even more than I already was.

"Oh, you'll get your chance, but first... we're going to Bellagio."

"Hmm, I'll make it worth your while..."I said, changing my tactics.

"I'll make it worth yours..." he countered.

"Fine..." I grumbled, knowing he wasn't going to let me get my way. He gave me a quick kiss before making his way back into the robe. I walked over to the bed and laid my dress down, then walked over to the draw that held some of my clothes I kept here... just in case I ever needed them. I pulled out the red lace bra & pant set and put them on before slipping on the dress Dimitri obviously liked.

I straightened the dress and turned to go into the bathroom so I could dry off my hair that had become wet from our bath and shower. I gasped seeing Dimitri standing at the robe doorway, he'd obviously been watching me dress. He licked his lips before standing straight and walked over to me.

"I'd just like to make one... little... change." He said standing close. I gave a nod, my voice suddenly deserting me. He smiled as he ran his hands down my sides. Without taking his eyes from mine, his fingers slowly lifted the hem of my dress. I couldn't work out what he was doing at first, but then it soon became obvious. His thumbs curled and slipped into the side of my panties... "You don't need these." He whispered in that deep, hungry voice of his. _Oh God! _I could feel myself getting wet at the thought of him wanting me bare while we went out... with friends no less.

Once they were off, he kissed me deeply until he had to pry me off him. "Don't pout." He said before walking outside.

_Damn... _"I don't have any shoes!" I told him as I followed.

"They're coming."

_They're not the only ones... _I thought to myself. Fifteen minutes later, the girls were knocking at the door... shoes in hand!

=x=

Bellagio was everything I'd heard it was... Elegant, tasteful... expensive! From what looked to be, highly detailed, pressed metal ceilings to the burgundy, cream and black carpeting on the floor... I felt like I didn't really belong, even in my $500 dress. The creamy coloured walls with their embossed, gold leaf Fleur De Lis' and the enormous crystal chandeliers that cast soft, glittering light added an ambiance that can be hard to get right...

We'd been sitting at the large square table for nearly ten minutes... two to a side, Lissa & Christian on our left, Mia and Adrian opposite, when Dimitri shifted his chair closer to mine and leant up against me, asking me how good my self control was... I was confused at first, and then the tips of his fingers touched the inside of my thigh... O_h..._ I couldn't stop the whimper that came out of me as I tried to think of why he'd ask me that.

"As you know, I always have a reason for things I do and say Roza." His voice was low and gravely, it told me everything I needed to know. He was about to be naughty... very, very naughty!

My eyes closed as his lips opened and his tongue moved over the skin of my neck. I nearly bit my tongue when his long fingers started moving up my legs. "Shhh..." he whispered as his fingers touched my uncovered flesh... Now I know why he wanted my panties off!

I looked around the table to see that the other couples were totally unaware of what was happening under the table... "What are you doing?" I whispered back.

"Teaching you self control, my love... Now unless you wish for everyone here to know exactly what we're doing, you'd best be quiet." _Holy mother of God! _"Do you want me to stop?"

_Oh hell no... _I gave a small shake of my head, hoping that the others wouldn't notice. The excitement I felt was out of this world, wetter and wetter I became as I tried to keep the sounds of pleasure inside and my face from expressing that pleasure. He was sooo good at what he was doing. My brows creased and I turned my face towards my tormentor as I felt something cold and hard touch my saturated pussy...

Dimitri was the picture of serene... He seemed to be listening to what the other people at the table had to say... I looked down and saw what I'd just felt... 'CLING!' My shock made me nearly knock the silverware in front of me onto the floor... _He brought a bullet to dinner? _I glanced back at him wide eyed and I watched as he tried valiantly to smother a smirk...

He leaned into me once more, kissing my cheek. "Trust me Roza..." Dimitri said his hot voice at my ear. "But whatever you do... be quiet..." _Oh hell..._

He moved it slowly against me as he spoke and again I tried to school my facial expressions but the knowledge and feel of what he was doing was almost too much to bear.

"You're awfully quiet Rose?" Mia said.

Then it happened...

"I've just got things..." _FUCK! He just turned it on... _"...on my mind." I was about to go cross eyed. I bit my lip as I tried not to moan.

"Are you feeling alright Rose?" Liss asked.

"Yup!" I answered quickly... a little too quickly. Lissa's eyes narrowed as she tried to work out what was going on with me. So I reached for glass of water.

After I finally put the glass back down on the table, Dimitri gently used his arm to push against me, making me lean back in my chair. As I did so, he moved the little silver bullet downwards... and then slowly slid it in! _Holy Fuck I'm gonna lose it... _My eyes closed as I bit my lip, I rubbed my fingers into my temples in an effort to keep myself centred and quiet. I had no idea what had got into him, but holy fuck I loved it!

"So, Dimitri... how much longer do you think Adrian will have therapy for?" Mia asked.

"Mmmm, well that depends on him really. The harder he works both with me and at home, the quicker he will heal."

"Do you have a headache Rose?" Lissa asked me. I opened my eyes, wondering why she'd ask that when she pointed to my hand at my temple.

"OH...!" I sat up quickly, my knee thumping hard against the underside of the table... Dimitri had just turned up the speed..."_Shit_..." I had to clear my throat..."Um sorry... um, just a little..." Liss looked over to Mia and I knew they were trying to work out what was wrong with me...

From the corner of my eye, I saw Dimitri lift the hand that had just been between my legs up to his mouth and very nonchalantly, sucked the end of his finger into his mouth. _Why is that so bloody HOT! _Just then the little demon inside me sped up again... Instantly I looked to the hand that was not in his mouth; it was empty... I couldn't understand how he was doing it. He saw my dazed confusion and started to chuckle under his breath...

"You're looking a little flushed," Lissa said worriedly, "...are you sure you're feeling okay?"

"Huh?"

"Rose, you're starting to sweat." Mia said. _And drool I think..._

Then all vibrations stopped and I let out a breath... "It _is_ a little warm in here, isn't it?"

"Nope... not really." Christian said smirking... _Oh no... He knows what's going on... _I cleared my throat and turned to Adrian in hopes of steering the conversation away from me...

"So, are you planning on returning _TO_..." _On again... _"...college... when you're... able?" My voice was starting to squeak.

"Um... yeah?" He said as he looked to Mia and Lissa. I put my right arm onto the table, gripping the edge hard as my left hand gripped Dimitri's leg under the table. Just then it stopped again...

"Hello, my name is Molly and I'll be your server tonight, is everyone ready to order?" I could see her eyes going from one guy to the other, but lingering on my man... That just wouldn't do!

"Yes, that would great." I said with a slightly frustrated tone. "What?" Everyone was looking at me like I had two heads.

"Nothing..." Lissa said shrugging and holding up her hands. Christian was sitting beside her trying his hardest not to look at either Dimitri or me and laugh. He _definitely_ knew what was going on, although, I couldn't seem to care... I was a sopping, throbbing frustrated pile of nerves and if nothing happened soon, I was going to commit a felony... of some sort. Murder most likely, Molly's murder... either that or a very public ravishing...

After everything had been ordered and our drinks brought to our table, conversation was flowing easily. Lissa was busy telling us all about how Mia got into an argument with one of their professors today when Dimitri turned the bullet on full force...

My hand was midway to my glass at the time and the shock had me slap it down to the table with force. "Shit Rose..." Mia exclaimed, holding her hand over her heart, "...you scared the hell out me!"

"Sorry..." I said trying to keep composure. Only this time... he wasn't turning it down or off, it was buzzing away quite happily inside, building me up higher and higher by the second. I shivered as my stomach started to tighten and I couldn't help but squirm in my seat.

"You got ants in your pants, Rose?" Christian asked.

_Fuck off prick! _That's what I wanted to say. "Something like that." Was what actually came out... That was all he needed to crack up laughing.

"Is your head still hurting Rose?" Liss asked as I started to rub my eyes. I could hear her; I just needed a second before I could answer. In the end I just nodded my head. I could feel my breathing start to increase as my blinking slowed... My consciousness was starting to leave the table of friends and go into the stratosphere of ecstasy...

Then he turned it off... "Shit!" I exclaimed a little louder than I meant to. I fell forward, laying my head on the edge of the table and trying desperately not to bring too much attention onto myself.

"Are you okay, Love?" Dimitri asked as he slid his hand under my hair and around the back of my neck. I felt his nose nuzzle into the hair at the side of my face. "Do you want me to stop?" he asked quietly into my ear.

_Did I? _

I shook my head 'no'... I could feel his smile before he pressed his lips to my temple.

"She's fine." He told everyone as I took a little longer to compose myself.

Dinner was fairly uneventful, other than the two times Dimitri turned on my torture device till I shivered... Each time, Christian would laugh under his breath. I could see Adrian looking between the three of us while the two girls chattered across from one another; I could tell he knew something was going on.

Dessert arrived, a strawberry Tiramisu... just like the one that I'd had before our 'dinner & movie' night... I smiled and looked up at Dimitri; he obviously knew what I was thinking about. "I seem to remember you liking this... a lot!" He said smiling softly.

"You remember correctly." With his left hand, he pushed a cake fork into the end of the slice and then brought it up to my mouth. I opened up and he slid the tasty morsel into my mouth. As he pulled the fork out, he flicked his wrist and the bullet started vibrating...

"Mmmm..." I finally had a chance to let out the moan that had been building all night and moan I did... "Oh God, that's good!" I said as I chewed really slowly...

Christian nearly fell off his chair and by the smirk that now pulled across Adrian's face; he had caught onto what was happening to me...

"Really?" Mia said. "It's that good?"

"Oh fuck yeah..." I said closing my eyes, I wasn't really answering her though. With that, both she and Lissa reached over to take a piece of my dessert. I didn't mind too much, I had something much better occupying my mind.

"Somehow I don't think you'll get the same _kick _out of it as Rose..." Christian laughed.

I couldn't help it... I stuck my tongue out at him. "You're just jealous that you don't have something as good going on in your... mouth."

Apparently, Adrian thinks I'm rather funny... He spat the mouthful of Black Forest Cake back onto the plate before nearly swallowing his tongue...

Another mouthful, another moan and more confused look from my friends. I think they honestly thought I'd gone nuts!

"It's not _that _good Rose." Lissa said. _You wouldn't say that if you were having what I'm having... _I thought to myself... I was getting a little hot under the collar again so I turned my body more to Dimitri... if he wasn't going to stop, then I wanted to look into his eyes as I silently took his erotic torture.

As Dimitri raised his arm to garner the attention of our waitress, the torture device inside me turned off... I leaned into Dimitri and wrapped my hand around his arm... "Do you have any intentions of finishing this anytime soon?" I growled between my teeth.

"That will depend..." he smiled.

"On what?"

"How well you dance." Then he turned to face the waitress and paid the bill...

=x=

Okay... this is the last part of the chapter... The club!

=x=

After leaving the restaurant we started to make our way down the richly decorated halls to the nightclub. Halfway there, the thumping bass of the music started to filter through the walls; seconds later we were inside.

The walls looked to be black, studded with small white fairy lights; smoke and lasers completed the surreal feel of the room. To the right, stretching along the wall was a long bar, ribbed in multi colored neon lights. Blue lights recessed into the ceiling above all the hanging glasses cast an eerie glow onto the people standing waiting to be served. Two dance floors already filled with bodies writhing to the thumping beat of Taio Cruz's Troublemaker, sprawled in front of us, both surrounded on all sides by either these half-round, lounge chairs and high standing tables and stools.

"Gonna let loose tonight Rose?" Liss asked me, swaying to the beat. She grinned at Mia before they both started shimmying their way closer to me.

"I'm always loose..." I giggled as they sandwiched me in between their swaying bodies. With that, my sweet torture device was turned on again, full speed, making me stumble in my heels. My legs were shaky enough after Dimitri constantly bringing me to the brink while I tried to eat and now I had the feeling that it was only going to get worse at the club.

"Are you sure you don't want to go home, Rose?" Lissa asked as she put the back of her hand against my slightly sweaty forehead. "You really are quite flushed."

"No..." I squeaked, "I'm fine... really... I'm all good." I looked back over my shoulder to find Dimitri smirking deviously with eyes that looked like he was ready to devour me.

"Stop trying to get her home Liss." Before Mia could pull me out of her sister's arms, Dimitri stepped forward and opened his arms.

"I'll look after her." He said. _Yes please... _Then he leant down and kissed me, deeply... The vibrations inside of me, added to what he was doing with his tongue inside my mouth, had me writhing and rubbing against him. He was hard against my stomach and all I wanted to do right then, was him...

"Oh God..." Liss moaned, "Let's go Chris before we get thrown out with them for indecent exposure!"

The buzzing slowed to a barely there hum and so did his lips. "Fuck... this is torture." I whispered against his hot mouth.

"But you're doing so well Roza." He ran the back of his fingers down my cheek and over my lips.

"Fuck doing well Dimitri, I'm gonna _burst_!"

"Not yet, you're not... When you burst, I want to be there... lapping it all up!" _Fuck! _Between his face, his torture and his words, I was seconds away from cumming... Everyone was already sitting at the half circle lounge when I turned around.

"What would you girls like to drink?" Dimitri asked as I sat down beside Mia. Thankfully, before the boys left to get our drinks, the buzzing stopped... but then a different buzzing started up.

"What's up with you tonight, Rose?" Mia asked.

"Yeah... You're all over the place. If it weren't for the fact that Dimitri had both hands on the table, I would have thought he was getting you off a few times under the dinner table."

She had no idea how close she was...

"I know!" Mia said wide-eyed. "That _so _looked like your 'O' face, Rose..."

"My what?"

"Your 'O' face... you know... Oh, oh... yeah, that's it... oh... oh god! Oh yeah... OHHHH! ... That face!"

_W...T...F?_ Her imitation of me was probably more accurate than I cared to admit...

The guys at the seats behind us looked like they were about to climb over and finish Mia off after her less than subtle display. I was saved from utter mortification when the guys came back with our drinks... Three highly amused guys!

I took my vodka and orange with a smile, grateful for the chance to steer the conversation away from me before it could start.

"Let's dance!" Mia yelled. "Come on Liss, Rose... Let's show the boys how it's done!"

It didn't matter if I felt like dancing or not... Mia grabbed Liss, Liss grabbed me and seconds later all three of us were dirty dancing at the edge of the dance floor to the suggestive lyrics of Buttons by the Pussycat Dolls... All three of us were putting on quite the show for our men and when I started buzzing again, I was ready for it...

Dimitri's grin widened when the only outward sign of what was going on inside of me, was a shiver that ran through my body... I couldn't take it anymore... I needed him!

I looked at him under my eyelashes and bit my lip, curling my finger in the 'come hither' gesture he used on me countless times, hoping that the invisible string he pulled me in with went both ways... I was extremely happy to see that it did. With the grace not often seen in a man of his size, Dimitri stood up from his seat and made his way over to me. And without taking his eyes from mine, he asked the girls if he could 'cut in'...

"Enjoying yourself tonight Love?" he asked as he pulled me against his rocking body.

"Not as much as I want to." His laughter warmed my heart.

"Let's see if I can rectify that shall we?"

He couldn't mean...? Could he? _Oh Shit he does... _The little silver bullet sped up as Dimitri pushed a leg in between my own, pulling me in closer and bending me backwards as we ground against each other to the music. My hands around his neck and shirt tightened as I hungrily pulled his mouth to mine... The feeling of his hard cock pushing against my pulsing clit was all I needed.

Five...

Four...

Three...

_OH FUCK! _My legs buckled and my eyes rolled as my body exploded in orgasm. I was absolutely incoherent of everything around me as my ears whooshed with the pumping of my blood and my mind was flooded in a cloud of ecstasy.

I opened my eyes to another set of eyes darkened in want and need. I needed to get this man home. "Take me home." I said still panting after that amazing orgasm. At some point, he'd turned the ninth wonder of the world... the Bullet of Wonders.

"But we just got here."

"I don't care. Take me home." There was no way I could stay here and not try to have my way with him and knowing Dimitri as I do, there was no way he'd have any sort of sex here, in a nightclub...

He held my face in his hands and smiled that lopsided smile I love so much. "Just a little while longer my love, I promise we'll leave soon." Apparently I have a very funny face when I hear something I don't like. Dimitri chuckled before closing his lips over mine once more.

One bathroom break and half an hour later, I was no less eager to leave than I was before. Any other night and I probably would have had to be dragged out kicking and screaming, but after the day I'd had and the night of sweet torture, all I wanted to do was go home with my man and fuck him silly! The others were busy either sucking face or... yeah, they were both sucking face. I gave Dimitri a look that expressed my exact thoughts...

"One last dance." He smiled. I can never refuse that smile. As we walked out onto the dance floor, one of my favourite songs started to play and the DJ spoke out loud...

_This next song is for Roza..._

_You Da ONE!_

I gasped...

You the one that I dream about all day  
>You the one that I think about always<br>You Are The One So I Make Sure I Behave!  
>My love is your love; your love is my love<p>

The soft smile on his face said so much...

Baby, I love you, I need you here  
>Give me all the time<br>Baby we meant to be  
>You got me, smiling all the time<p>

Everything this man says and does, shows how much he loves me... I'd never had this in my life before and it scared me to know exactly how far I'd go to protect it... He pulled me into his arms and I let the lyrics of the song wash into my soul...

My love is your love, your love is mine

Not all the words filtered through my brain, his scent and his nearness overtook a lot of what was going on around me.

Baby come, tear me now, hold me now  
>Make me come alive<br>You got the sweetest touch  
>I'm so happy, you came in my life<p>

You know how to love me hard  
>I won't lie, I'm falling hard<br>Yep, I'm falling for ya but there's nothin wrong with that

You the one that I'm feeling  
>You the one that I'm loving<br>Ain't no other, that's like you  
>No there's just one, one, one<br>No baby just one, one  
>I bet you wanna know<p>

After saying goodbye to our friends, Dimitri finally took me back to his place. It was well before midnight, something that had never happened before when the girls and I went out clubbing, but I couldn't have cared less... My heart felt as if it was going to die if I didn't have Dimitri inside me in the next five seconds...

True to his words... the next orgasm he brought me to, he lapped it all up... As did I as I brought him to his first release of the night.

"Do you want to talk about what happened today Love?" _He really isn't normal... _I thought with a smile.

"I don't really know how to put it into words. Just... Must be coming up to that time of the month I suppose."

He nodded thoughtfully before speaking. "So the Mirena stops them altogether?"

"Yeah, more or less, it's been a Godsend." Two years ago, I finally had a Mirena IUD inserted to help with my out of control periods. It really was the answer to my prayers... it had slowed my loss to nothing more than a few spots over the course of a day but it hadn't stopped the mood swings on the whole... but I could handle that, it was a good swap. It was also a fantastic birth control.

That night, I not only went to sleep to soft kisses and fingers trailing paths up my back... but also the nagging thought that I shouldn't have deleted that message of Tasha's.

* * *

><p><em>I hoped you enjoyed the return of our favourite Russian Sex God and his muse... And I hope this answered some of your questions about the protection they use... I just know that it would have given me the shits to have to written about tearing open packets every time they got busy! LOL!<em>

_Till next chapter... Don't forget to review... (Even though I've been bad...) ;-)_


	11. Chapter 10 Charity

Hi Everyone... I know, I know... I'm sooooo late! I'll explain at the end of this chapter...

Sandy

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10 Charity<strong>

**Greed…** Something given to a person or persons in need. A benevolent feeling, especially toward those in need.

**DPOV**

After confessing that I was in love with Rose on Monday, I felt... an ease wash over me. I no long felt anxious that it was going to blurt out in a moment of passion and scare her away; I knew that I could say it whenever I liked now and it would be welcomed. That thought alone made me smile... every time!

When she text me on Tuesday to ask if she could see me, I was more than a little eager. I was only miffed that I hadn't heard the message come in straight away. When she said she felt 'out of sorts', I sort of knew how she felt... Now that the words were out there, I wanted her now more than ever, to have my arms around her and never let go.

I'd looked at my watch every couple of minutes, eager to hold her again when a call came in for me to go a girl on the third floor that I worked with. I was actually her fourth therapist after the car accident she'd been in that had claimed her mother's life. She had a lot of guilt over it as her mother had just picked her up at her boyfriend's house after she'd snuck out of the house. As far as she was concerned, if she hadn't have done that her mother would still be alive, and as a result of her guilt, she was a very difficult patient; unwilling to get better as a way to punish herself.

They thought that with her age and my 'reputation' for making girls do whatever I wanted them to do, that I would have more luck than anyone else. When I arrived in her room, the look on her face said everything... She was _not _going to co-operate with her doctors. I asked everyone to leave and for the next ten minutes, I sat beside her and talked her feelings out. She was a very damaged young girl... both physically and emotionally. I really hoped that one day, I could see her heal.

After getting Abby to consent to her treatment, I went back to the therapy ward to make sure Roza had arrived, Rhonda informing me that she had and that she looked terrible. So I quickly said my goodbyes and made my way to the parking garage. I opened the door, my eyes going straight to the Hummer; I smiled when I saw her sitting inside. A second later, she looked up in my direction and smiled back, even from this distance I could see that it wasn't her normal happy smile she gives me, but I knew exactly how to get one there...

She was obviously as eager to hold me as I was her... And having her body and scent wrap around me made that 'itchy' feeling I'd had since she'd left this morning, melt away. I could tell she didn't want to talk, so I took her home as fast as I could without looking too eager. Even knowing she was feeling the way she was, I had to consciously stop myself from moving the hand that I held on her leg, further up to get her ready for what I wanted to do to her once we got inside my apartment. If I could live inside of her, I would... My mouth twitched when I remembered my mother saying to my sister… '_Sonya, after boys are born, they're only sane for a few years before they start spending the rest of their lives trying to get back in, we just have to be strong enough to say no_.'...

I wanted her to start to relax, so I thought a warm bath would be best. When she realised where I was taking her, I could tell exactly what went through her mind... 'The chair!'... I knew how much she loved it but I need her to relax first... and she did. So much so, that she actually told me more about her childhood than she ever had before. My heart broke over how her parents had treated her, her whole life... No-one deserved that, especially my beautiful Roza.

When I first saw her in the parking garage, I could see it wouldn't take much for her to fall apart; she came to me to help hold her together. A thought had gone through my mind a few times in the weeks we'd been together; I knew she needed to learn a bit of self-control, restraint if you will. Until she did, I had to be the one in control and my past '_self'_ constantly wanted to come out to play. Images of the life I led where I was very much in control… of _everyone _passed through my mind. I didn't regret those times as such, I just regretted that I let that side of me too much rein…. I let that side of me bleed into every aspect of my life and it wasn't healthy; for me at least. Tasha, Bertie, Tae Kwon Do and yoga all helped me in different ways, but tonight, tonight I think the dominant side of me would come out in order to teach _her_ how to control her body and emotions. Internally, I smiled at the thought of not only controlling her body's responses, but of her controlling _mine_ in the future.

Her face fell when I walked past the chair, but the bath was worth it in the end. Afterwards, I got her to call her friends. In order to _force_ Rose to control herself for an extended period of time, the lesson I needed to be learned would be best done in public. The fact that others were around would show her just how strong she could be. In the end, the lesson had been good for both of us; I had my own control issues where Rose was concerned and it was about time I relearned how to 'tame the beast'.

I knew that I wanted to be able to surprise her with a night out at some point and considering she spent a large portion of the week at my place, I needed to have a dress handy in case the occasion ever cropped up... I'd asked Lissa a few days before if she could sneak one to me and she'd given me one that Rose had bought a while ago but never worn.

Even though we did nothing but 'clean up' in the shower, I knew that the slightly more than innocent touches I'd bestowed had worked her up again, so the look in her eyes when I slapped her on the ass after giving her the dress had me smiling that her mind was right where I wanted it to be... I could literally see the hunger in her eyes. In an arousal scale of one to five, one being orgasmic... she was a five...

At the look she gives me, I almost relent on my plan for the night so before I did, I took myself off to the closet while she started to get dressed. I took the opportunity to get my 'means of control' for the night; the little bullet vibrator and put it in my pocket. The remote for it was a clever one, it was a watch that when fitted correctly could be turned on and off simply with a turn of my wrist, the intensity changed by turning the face dial. Coming back into the bedroom, I stopped and watched as she pulled the dress up her body and pull the zipper up her back before turning to face me... Only one problem with the vision in front of me; for me to do what I wanted to do tonight, the panties had to go!

"I'd just like to make one... little... change." I said. I moved my hands down her side, careful not to take my eyes off hers. I knew that with the thoughts and images currently in my mind, if I saw her standing there bare, I'd take her again and I needed her strung out and horny. "You don't need these." I felt my lips start to curl as her pupils dilated in understanding.

She was building to a four... As I watched her arousal increase, I felt my dominant nature flare. I'd turned this side of me inwards a long time ago, using it to control myself instead of others, but Roza needed this in order to grow and she most certainly had a way of bringing it back out in me.

At the restaurant, I watched Rose's state of arousal wane slightly and that would _not _do... I took the bullet into my hand and moved closer to her... "How good is yourself control, my Love?" She looked a little confused, so I moved the tips of my fingers to the inside of her thigh but I think the gesture was lost as she kept thinking about my question... "As you know, I always have a reason for the things I do and say Roza."

Then she got it... Her arousal hitched back up to a four... but I wanted more. She whimpered softly when I finally moved up and touched her uncovered pussy. I was pleased to find her as wet as she was. It didn't take long for her to get to the point where I could insert the bullet and start the lesson.

And so the night began….

The upping and lowering of her arousal was as maddening to her as it was to me, but I felt with everything in me that it was a lesson that would benefit her in every aspect of her life. I knew the moment Chris saw the watch he'd know what was going on; I knew he had one of his own and it was especially fun to watch the moment it 'clicked' to Adrian what was going on…

The nightclub was… fun. Seeing the girls rubbing up on either side of Rose had the dominant side of me revel in seeing her at my mercy. Now that we weren't sitting in a restaurant, I didn't stop myself from taking her into my arms and kissing her the way I'd wanted to for the last couple of hours. I knew we were getting carried away and it took everything in me to pull back.

"Fuck... this is torture." She whispered. I knew it was, but she was doing so well and I told her so... Apparently she didn't think she was... "Fuck doing well Dimitri, I'm gonna _burst!" _I had to gain more control, I had to put her back into the right frame of mind.

"Not yet, you're not... When you burst, I want to be there... lapping it all up!" I could see her eyes and body submit and I revelled in it more than I'd planned to. I had to move away from her for a bit; reign myself in. The guys came with me to the bar for drinks. The comments started as soon as they were ordered.

"_You_... are the master!" Adrian said in a slightly awed tone.

"Why is that Adrian?" I asked trying to keep the smirk off my face.

"I know what you're doing and I must say that I would never have thought that you swayed that way man... but Holy _Shit_! I think I need pick your brains when I'm ready to go further than first base!"

"You're really mean, Cuz..." Chris said smiling. "Although, I didn't think she'd last as long as she has."

"She's stronger than she thinks she is." I said, knowing the truth of those words. "You need lay off the comments Chris; I want her attention on me." He conceded just as the drinks were placed in front of us and then we made our way back to the girls.

Rose didn't get to drink much before the girls had her up on the dance floor once again. I was already worked up and the performance they were putting on was only making matters worse, but this night was for my benefit too... I had to regain at least some of my self-control, but her smouldering look and 'come hither' gesture was all it took. As much as I wanted to be by ourselves when this happened, I also knew that once I took her into my arms on the dance floor, I wouldn't be able to deny her the release she'd craved all night. With all my teasing, she'd done so well and I can't help but admit that I wanted to see it as much as she wanted it.

I turned on the bullet one last time, starting it off at its lowest setting and knowing that I wouldn't be stopping it until she came. The heat of her kisses and body as we danced turned me on even more than I had been all night. I was taken aback by the sudden desire to do something that I haven't done since I was nineteen…. Sex it up on the dance-floor.

And watching her shatter in my arms, in such a public way, made my inner Dom roar…

She wanted to leave right then and there but I still wanted the night to continue with what I'd planned. Her disappointment in my decision was not hard to miss, even on the darkened dance floor; I couldn't help but kiss her.

As the night wore on, her desire to leave didn't wane. The others were busy with each other, Adrian and Mia included and I knew that I wouldn't be able to hold her off for much longer. Rose leaned into me as we sat at our table and seeing the look in her eyes, I finally relented… "One last dance…"

As we walked to the dance floor, I looked over to the DJ; I'd already teed up a song that I hoped she would finally hear the meaning behind….

You Da One…

"This next song is for Roza!"

I heard her soft gasp and then I pulled her into my arms. As the song played, I could feel her body mould into mine. Her hands moved up and down my back, she'd occasionally nuzzle into my chest and before I knew it, the song was finished and we were on our way back to my apartment.

=x=

The rest of the week went by much better at first. Wednesday morning I woke up to a very happy Rose… The dream I'd been having was more of a recap of the night before but then it suddenly changed….

"_Not yet baby. Don't you dare cum until I tell you; hold it." I was hard and throbbing as I watched her struggle to control her body from erupting in orgasm. _

"_Please…" she breathed out in a soft stutter. "….I… can't… I don't know how much longer… please, please…."_

_I watched her body shiver, knowing that the bullet inside was probably being squeezed to death by the strong muscles inside of her hot pussy. I was suddenly a little envious of the small inanimate object. _

"_I'll do anything… please…"_

"_Tell me… what would you do?" I felt her hand gently pass over my rock hard cock and I clenched my jaw at the feeling. My eyebrow rose slightly as I felt her hand slip down my abs and into the waistband of my pants. Looking down, I didn't find anything wrong with the fact that I was dressed in nothing but black satin sleep pants, nor did I find anything wrong when she lowered herself to her knees in front of me. I looked down smirking as she slowly eased the elastic down to the top of my thighs. I looked upward to all the people milling around us; people with absolutely no facial features… no eyes, no noses or mouths, just faceless people. The feeling of her hot wet tongue sliding up my cock brought my attention back to her… completely._

_My eyes closed as I moaned, my hand weaving into her hair to help guide her… "That's it baby…" Suddenly, the feelings became too… real. The heat; too hot, too wet…_

I don't know what it was, but my eyes were suddenly open. Confusion assaulted me for a second or two as I took in my surroundings before my brain registered the feeling between my legs… I looked down my body only to be met with deep brown, smiling eyes looking back at me… Deep brown eyes above deep pink lips that were currently wrapped around my hard as fuck dick! "Oh, fuck…" My hips moved of their own volition as her eyes closed before taking me in deeper. I quickly realised that I could definitely get used to waking up like that on a regular basis…

Thursday morning though, I woke up alone… Looking over at the empty side of the bed, I did as I'd done many times before; I pictured Rose there and cursed the fact that she wasn't. Our relationship had moved so fast, it was only a matter of weeks since I'd first laid my eyes on her beautiful face but I also knew that she was the one for me. I could feel it in my bones. I'd never been an overly romantic guy; I'd certainly bedded my fair share of women over the years. I'd even go so far to say that I'd grown quite fond of a few of them too, but never have I fallen so fast and as completely as I have for Rose. Seeing her in that art studio, I felt as if I'd been hit by a freight train and by the end of that night, I knew that I couldn't let her leave without speaking to her at the very least. As it turned out, the night ended up better than I could have ever hoped.

I know that we'd only been together for a few weeks, but that didn't stop me from wanting her here with me… always.

Friday morning rolled around and after showering and dressing for work, I made my way into the kitchen for some much needed caffeine… "Shit…" I grumbled as I looked down into the empty container. Fridays were _not _a good day to run out of coffee. Quickly I thought of where I could pick up a coffee on my way to work. I most certainly wouldn't be getting one there, that shit was like toxic waste. The two places I'd only go to were the one closer to the college or the one that I'd sometimes gone to after work, but that was even further away… '_Bean Me Up' _it was…

=x=

I pulled out my wallet as I made my way up to the counter. "What can I get you man?" The barista asked.

"A double espresso thanks." With a quick nod, he walked off to fill my order. I paid the girl and less than a minute later; I stood at the counter and let the strong, dark, life giving force of caffeine course through my veins, not able to wait any longer. With a shrug, I turned to walk out when a sniffle made me look to my left. The smile of recognition soon fell as I took in Tasha's face. "Tasha?"

She was just staring, like she was lost in some sort of memory. She looked my way when she heard me call out her name before she dropped her head to the cold coffee in front of her. The only other time I'd ever seen her like this was when she'd lost Pavel.

"Sweetie, what's wrong?" Her face crumpled at my question and she furiously wiped at her cheeks and shook her head. "Tasha, you're scaring the shit out of me, talk to me, please…" I quickly made my way over to her, wrapping my arm around her shoulders.

"You didn't call…" she sobbed. Her voice was scratchy like she hadn't used it in days. "You never called me back."

"What? I don't understand…"

"I sent you a text on Tuesday, I needed you…"

"What? I didn't get a text from you Tasha. I would never _not_ call you back." I fished out my phone from my pocket and went into my messages… _Nothing… _"See…" She pulled out her phone and then scrolled down to my name, sure enough; there was the text she'd sent. _Tues 2:38pm _ I tried to think of what I was doing at that time. I was with Rose on Tuesday, she'd had a bad day and she'd come to work. I only had a few patients that day and was able to leave early after seeing Abby and getting her to agree to therapy. I met her at my car… where she'd waited for me… with my things… my phone… _She wouldn't, would she? _As a feeling of what can only be described as 'disappointment' fell over me, I realised… _Yes… she would, especially on Tuesday. _

"I'm sorry…" Tasha wailed, "...I know you're busy. I just… I just really needed to talk to you."

I tightened my grip on my friend as I not only took in her words and state of distress, but also the realisation that Rose had more than likely deleted her message. "You have nothing to be sorry for Tash. I'm sorry I didn't get your message; I would have been there for you in a heartbeat. Please, tell me what's wrong."

That started off the tears again to the point where I had to pull her onto my lap. I sent a text off to work saying that I had a family emergency and would call when I could as Tasha got herself under control, and then for the next forty minutes I was told in absolute devastation as to the reason for her need of me on Tuesday. When she finished, all I could do was hold her while her tears fell again my shirt. My eyes stung as they started to water and the tennis ball in my throat made it impossible to speak; just swallowing was hard enough. I'm not sure how long we sat there for but when the tightening of my throat released, I finally spoke.

"Are they sure?" She slowly nodded her head against my neck. Just then the bell over the door rang out and I looked up to see Adrian walk in and I could do no more than kiss her forehead in sorrow. "Would you like another coffee?" I asked her. After her nod, I motioned him over to me and got him to order one along with his. When he got back to the table, I expected him to ask what the problem was, but he didn't, much to his credit, he just sat and tried to make conversation.

"Are you okay to sit and drink your coffee babe?" I asked once I felt Tasha stop sniffling. She gave a nod and I kissed her forehead but before I could move her into the chair beside me, I heard an odd sound to my right. I looked up to three sets of eyes on me; two sets that were almost spitting fire at me, one set that were pained. It didn't take long for me to realise what this must have looked like to her… "Fuck… Rose."

"Come on Rose, let's just go." I heard Mia say as the door closed behind them. Within seconds, they were out of sight...

"Shit… Tasha, I'm sorry, I've…"

"Go, I'll be fine." Tasha said sniffling.

"I'll stay with her." Adrian said when I looked to him. I didn't want to leave Tasha right now and as angry as I was at Rose for deleting the message, I knew I couldn't let her leave thinking what she must have been thinking. I jumped up and raced out into the street.

"Rose! Stop please." They weren't too far in front of me but they were moving quickly. "Rose…"

"Fuck off you… you two timing, back stabbing…"

As much as I understood what she must have felt, I clenched my jaw in irritation of the vitriol being spewed at me.

"It's not what it looks like."

"Oh, you've _got _to be fucking _kidding _me…" Lissa yelled as she and her sister kept walking with Rose in between them. "You couldn't think of something better than that old line? Prick…"

"It's _not _a line… Rose, please… just stop for two seconds. Please." When she turned to face me, my angry heart tempered a little… "Rose, it's _not _a line, I promise."

"You have thirty seconds Dimitri." Lissa said coldly. I wanted to tell her to back off but I couldn't take my eyes off Rose.

"Tasha got some bad news recently, she's… I can't tell you what it is because it's not my place, but she's… shattered; so am I to tell you the truth. I was only comforting her, I promise…."

"What's wrong?" Mia asked me. My eyes flicked over to her when I heard the change in tone but I quickly looked back to Rose.

"I can't say,"... I could see Lissa was about to start again so I quickly continued, "...if she wants to talk about it or gives me permission to tell you, then I will, but I promise that's all it was. I came in here on my way to work and I found her sitting here, crying and staring off into space with a cold coffee in front of her. When I asked her what was wrong, she burst into tears. I grabbed hold of her because she was sobbing so much I thought she'd fall off her chair and it took ages for her to calm down enough to tell me what was wrong. Adrian came in about five minutes ago and we were just talking. I promise Rose, that's all it was."

If she wouldn't believe me now, then I wasn't going to beg; what happened next was up to her. I held out my hand and waited. Her eyes bored into mine, searching for the truth in my words most likely and then I watched as she found whatever she was after. She took a step towards me only to be held back by Lissa. With a smile and a quick, silent conversation, Rose hugged her friend and asked if she could tell her professors that she was sick. Lissa glared at me before her and her sister walked away mumbling vitriolic anti-men ramblings.

"I'm sorry you got hurt over what you saw, I don't like being a source of pain for you." She nodded but didn't speak. "Can I hold you?" I was still reeling from what Tasha had just told me, I needed… comfort, and I wanted it from the woman I loved. I wrapped my arms around her when she walked up to me. The pain I was in wanted to come out but it wasn't the time or the place for that. I pressed a kiss to her temple before lifting her feet off the ground. I don't know what we must have looked like, standing on the sidewalk wrapped up in each other but I needed to rein in my emotions. As I gently swayed us, I buried my face into her neck and breathed in her soothing scent. When she pulled back, I knew my 'time out' was at an end... "Do you want to go inside? I'll see if Tasha is okay with me letting you know what's going on."

"Okay." She whispered.

"Thank you." I lowered her to the ground and took her face in my hands, needing her to hear my next words. "I'm sorry you were hurt by what you saw. Come on."

We'd get to the consequences of her actions soon enough, right now; I needed to deal with Tasha and her shocking revelation. I pulled her into my side, needing the closeness and kissed the top of her head, praying that I'd hold it together long enough to be of help to my friend. We walked back into the coffee shop and saw that Adrian was now holding Tasha who was once again crying. He smiled and winked at us, alerting Tasha who sat up nervously. "Rose…" she whispered.

"Tasha." I looked down at Rose, after what I'd just told her, I was shocked to hear the bitterness in her voice, bitterness she had no right to.

"Hi Rose… good to see you again." Rose never replied before turning her attention to Adrian.

"Hi Adrian. You're out and about I see."

"Yeah, I only go into that God forsaken hospital now to see _his _ugly face." Adrian said smirking. "Imagine my horror when I walked into _this _place and find it here too…" Hearing Rose scoff at his sarcastic, conversation ice breaker, I decided to keep it going…

"You love me." I said to him half-heartedly, trying to lighten the atmosphere. I pulled out the spare chair for Rose to sit in and then grabbed another for myself.

"I'm sorry Rose." Tasha said quietly, but she had no need to feel that way so I quickly told her so.

"You have nothing to be sorry for Tash, but can I…?" I flicked my eyes towards Rose, hoping that Tasha would pick up what I was asking. She looked over to Rose, knowing that for me; right now... the truth had to come out.

"Please don't let it go any further than you Rose; I'm just not ready for everyone else to know just yet. I need more time, okay?"

"Okay." I could see Rose had no idea what she meant, but I did… She was worried that it would get back to Christian before she had a chance to tell him herself.

"I'm gonna go." Tasha said standing. I went to tell her to stay but she just shook her head. "You guys stay…"

"No, I'll walk you home if you want." Adrian said standing up too. "I'm afraid we won't break any land speed records yet, but I'm told that I'm not too bad company… in a pinch!"

"I'd like that, thank you." Tasha turned her wet, red rimmed eyes to Rose and offered her hand. "I'm sorry for the misunderstanding Rose. Talk to you again soon Dimka and… thank you… for being here."

"Always sweetie." Then I watched them slowly make their way out onto the sidewalk…

I took a deep breath; knowing that I needed a few minutes before I could talk about Tasha's sickness. "Wanna get a coffee before we start?"

"That sounds good. I'll have a cappuccino." I nodded and kissed her on the top of her head before going up to the counter.

"Everything alright with your friend?" The barista asked motioning to where Tasha had just left once I gave him our order.

"No… not even close unfortunately."

"Sorry to hear that." Soon enough, I was back at the table and using Rose's closeness to centre my thoughts…. Wanting to get it all over with, I started….

"When I first saw her sitting here this morning, her face was... empty. When she finally looked up into my face, the utter devastation I saw in her eyes ripped my heart out. I'd only ever seen that look in her eyes once before, no, twice. The first time was when her husband, Pavel was murdered by some psycho strung out on ice on his way home from work; the next was when she miscarried their child... So I knew that whatever was wrong... was bad."

I could feel my emotions getting the better of me, so I took the chance to take a sip of my coffee. I just had to remember that no matter how hard it was for me, it was worse for Tasha and she got through the telling of it.

"As soon as I asked what was wrong, she... just broke. I rushed over to her and she collapsed into my arms. I pulled her onto my lap and tried to get her to tell me what had happened but she couldn't put two words together. So, I just held her until she could." When I felt Rose take my hand in hers I looked at her and took the strength she was offering me. "A couple of weeks ago, I finally got her to go to the doctors. She'd been complaining that she was really tired but then told me that it was because she'd been waking up with stomach pains for a while; probably anxiety over the anniversary of Pavel and her baby's deaths. The doctor sent her for some tests."

"What did they find?" Rose asked. I knew she could tell what was coming…

"End stage colon cancer; M…1B or something like that." My voice broke slightly at the end.

"Shit… Can they treat it?"

"It doesn't look like it. From the tests that were done, it's metastasized to her liver and lungs as well as some of the other organs in her belly; surgery would tell them more. They want to start Chemo but barring a miracle, it wouldn't cure her, it'll only give her a little longer."

"I'm so sorry." I looked at her and wanted to accept her sorrow but all I could think about was the text that she'd deleted; the text that Tasha had sent when she was given the bad news…

"We've been friend since… I think I was twelve or something."

"How could she be so sick, she doesn't look it? When she posed that night with you, she looked amazing."

Her words reminded me of that night at the college but she wasn't as amazing as Rose remembered. Bertie and I both knew she wasn't well, we just didn't know how much. I rested my face against my hands on the table willed myself not to break down. I felt so much sadness for Tasha; she'd lost so much in her life… her parents, her home, her husband and child and now she was to lose her life too… It just wasn't fair.

"Come on." Rose said after a few minutes. I looked up to see her holding her hand out to me. I took it and silently we made our way to her apartment. I was numb as I followed Rose through the front door. I was numb as she led me through to her bedroom. I was numb as she sat me down on the bed and proceeded to take off my shoes and socks. When she pushed me onto the bed and curled me up in her embrace, it was all I needed for the walls to crumble.

As I lay against her chest and listened to her heart, my pain for the friend I loved as a sister leached out. Memories of our lives played through my mind, memories of how we'd come to each other's rescue over the years; I honestly couldn't fathom a future where she wasn't in it. I couldn't help but wonder how this was going to affect Chris… he'd lost almost as much as she had. Though he didn't have as many memories of his parents as she did, he'd still lost them. Nor had he lost a wife and child… but he loved his sister immensely and to lose her was going to hit him hard. He would be the last of his family and he would see it as him having no-one left. My only hope was that his new relationship with Lissa was strong enough for him to lean on.

If it weren't for the fact that Rose's hands hadn't stopped moving up and down my back, I would have thought she'd fallen asleep ages ago. I was still upset with her over what she'd done, but it was just something that I couldn't deal with right now. I just wanted to forget… everything. The heat and scent of her around me was too much to resist. As I moved my lips up her neck, I reached up to bring her closer to me and my cock flooded with desire…

Behind her ear was one of her most sensitive spots. The taste of her skin on my tongue soon had my mind right where I wanted it to be. I pulled the lobe of her ear into my mouth, the soft skin so like that which was between her legs. When she didn't pull away, my hand moved up her side, gripping and rubbing as it went. One thing about Rose, the thing that always made my heart race was the way she responded to me and at the moment her almost instant submission to my advances had me feel as if someone had flicked a switch. I felt my long dormant, dominant persona flair back to life.

Slipping my hand up under her shirt, my inner Dom smiled at the feel of her flesh prickling. Slowly I inched my way up her body and when she turned her face to mine, I greedily took what she offered. As much as I loved her, I took what she was offering as an escape, I needed to forget even if it was for only a short time, and she was very good at making me forget.

=x=

Afterwards, we lay silently wrapped around one another but my mind couldn't help but cycle through the last few hours. My morning had started off so well, I'd woken with a smile on my face, knowing I'd be seeing Rose by the end of the day, but it soon turned out to be one of the worst days of my life so far... Thinking of Tasha's devastated face made my chest feel as though it was going to crack open. I honestly felt as though my heart was bleeding for her. But at the back of it all, was the nagging knowledge of what Rose had done.

The deletion of a text, in and of itself isn't all that big of an issue. I had nothing to hide. The issue was that she didn't trust me _or _my relationship with Tasha, that she felt the need to keep us apart by removing Tasha's plea to a friend in a time of need. I understand that at the time, Rose didn't think about the full ramifications of her actions but that's neither here nor there... it was something she should _never _have done.

The more I thought of this, the more I could feel the anger rising inside of me. I was angry at what was happening to my best friend... I was angry _for _her... I was angry for _me, _because of everything that I was going to miss with her; that Chris was going to miss with her. But besides all of that, I was angry with Rose too... She's put me in a position where I'm going to have to confront her about her actions and with the way I've been feeling lately, with my former self, rising to the surface, it was a dangerous thing to do on her part. I knew I had to rein in the anger before I said something that could seriously hurt both of us.

I just didn't know why she was having such a hard time trusting me.

I needed to get some space, so I told Rose to take a shower while I checked in with work. I wanted to make sure they were able to bring someone in to cover my shift; I hated leaving them in the lurch like that, but I knew I was in no shape to do my job professionally. By the time she came outside, I had cooled down somewhat and was sitting on the lounge chair. The anger was still swirling in my mind and heart and thankfully, Rose gave me the space she obviously saw that I needed.

"Do you want me to stay tonight or would you prefer to be alone for a while?" She asked me after the movie she'd put in had ended. I think it was some James Bond movie, not sure which one though, I wasn't really watching it. Now... how to answer. We hadn't seen each other since Wednesday morning and the days in between had felt like a lifetime, I'd needed her with me... but now... now I didn't know what I wanted.

"Stay..." I said. My voice sounded off, even to me. There was so much going on in my head. I knew I didn't want to be alone; I'd missed her like crazy. When Rose's phone lit up later that evening with Lissa's number, I took the opportunity to go have a shower.

"Don't say anything." I reminded her.

"I won't. Enjoy your shower." I gave a quick nod of my head before walking into my room.

"Hey Liss." I heard her say quietly. I hadn't stopped to eavesdrop, no matter how angry I was feeling at the moment, her voice still calmed me; the melody of it calming me deep inside. "Yeah... No, it's all good, I promise... Yeah, he was telling the truth... _Yes, _Liss,I believe him, I believe them both." I could tell by the tone of her voice, she was telling the truth. That bitterness I'd heard earlier was now gone. I took a deep breath and walked to my drawers to get out a pair of sleep pants. "It's not my place Liss, okay." I didn't hear anything else as I shut the door to the bathroom.

As I stood under the stinging, hot needles of water, I felt the pain rise up in me again. Though, this time I didn't break down, tears still flowed from my eyes. I just couldn't understand why someone like Tasha, who'd lost so much in her life, had suffered so much heartbreak, had to seemingly suffer right up to her last breath... a breath that was approaching faster than I wanted it to. When I finally made my way back out to the lounge room, Rose looked up with a sad smile and opened her arms to me. I walked over to her but instead of letting her wrap her arms around me, I grabbed her hands and pulled her out of the chair. Without a word, I pulled her over to the front door, making sure it was locked and then switched of the lights as we made our way back to my bedroom.

Again we just laid there with Rose in my arms; my mind was blank all while buzzing with a million thoughts. I felt Rose relax into sleep and I watched her eyes move jaggedly behind her lids. I wished _I _could just turn it all off... After a while, I untangled myself and slipped out of the bed, I just couldn't lay there any longer. Walking out onto the balcony that came off the lounge room, I took a deep breath of the cool night air and focused my thoughts on the one thing that I _could _do something about... Rose. I knew I had to confront her about her actions, but I knew that I couldn't handle the thought of it coming to a fight and possibly losing her if things were said out of anger... and I was just too bloody angry at the moment. I made the decision to put that aside for a few days, I needed to be there for my friend and her brother when the time came. Everything else would be dealt with in time...

=x=

When I'd noticed the night sky was starting to lighten, I stood up and went back to bed; Rose instinctively curled her body around mine as I joined her. I loved that... I loved _her_. I gently pressed my lips against her forehead and took a deep breath of her scent. It wasn't long before I fell asleep.

It was nearly midday when I woke up on Saturday and once again, Rose's side of the bed was empty and cold. I turned to my bedside table and with one look at my cell phone, the anger I felt over her actions returned... I sat up and reached for it anyway, scrolling down to her number, I pressed 'send'.

"Hello?"

"Hey Tash, how are you sweetie?"

"As good as can be expected. What do I owe the pleasure of you call, D?"

"You were just on my mind."

"Do you always have me on your mind when you wake up Dimka?"

"No... And it's nearly midday, why would you think I'm just waking up?"

"I've known you long enough to know your 'sleepy voice'."

"Whatever." I scoffed.

"You're not going to wallow on me are you?"

"Who me? I don't wallow..." I lied...

"Mmmhmm... Anyway, is everything with Rose okay?"

I didn't want her thinking that there was something wrong because of what Rose believed she saw at the cafe so I fudged the truth a bit... "She's good."

"I'm glad... Hey listen, I'm glad you called. I wanted to ask you something; you can say no if you don't think you can handle it."

"Spit it out woman." I growled...

I smiled when I heard her small giggle: it was good to hear. "Well, I was wondering if you'd come with me to go see Chris tomorrow. As much as I don't want to do this, it's better that he knows now so that he can... prepare, I suppose. It's gonna take some time for him to... come to terms with it all I think."

The pain returned to my chest at her words... Chris wasn't the only one... "Yeah..." I cleared my throat. "You know you're not alone in this right, Tash? You need me, any time, all you have to do is call and I'll be there."

"I know... I've always known Dimka. So... how about midday tomorrow?"

"That's fine. I'll pick you up just after 10 at your place and we'll go over together." Just then the bedroom door opened and Rose poked her head into the room.

"That sound like a plan. Hey, bring Rose..."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah..." I could tell she had more on her mind about Rose, I just didn't know if she was going to say it now or not. I motioned for Rose to come in with my finger but I still felt a bit... torn. On one hand I was so happy to see her, to have her close, but I was still so fucking angry at her. "Can you ask her to make sure Lissa's there too, I know how Chris feels about her and I think he'll need her there."

"Okay, I'm sure that won't be a problem, sweetie. Do you need anything?" My eyes never left Rose's as she sat gently on the bed at my feet.

"Nah... I think Adrian bought enough shit for me to last a life... time..." I heard her gasp, realising what she'd just said... "Shit..."

"Tasha..."

"No... I'm fine." she said quickly interrupting me. "Um, listen, I'll see you tomorrow alright?"

"Okay... please... call me if you need me, no matter what time it is. I mean it. If I find out something was wrong and you didn't call me, I'm gonna be fucking pissed at you, alright?"

"Yes boss..." she said with a little attitude. I was glad to hear it...

"You got that right, woman!" I said grinning.

"Yeah, whatever..." she said with a snort. "Piss off and let me enjoy the rest of my day."

"OH! Fine... I wouldn't want to stifle your plans..."

"Good... See ya!" And with that, she hung up!

"Cow..." I muttered under my breath. I looked up to see Rose with a sad smile on her face.

'I feel like such a bitch... the world's biggest." She looked down at her hands that were in her lap and I wondered if she was going to 'confess her sins' so to speak.

"Why would you say that?"

She didn't look up as she started to talk.

"I've just been... so jealous of her, for many _stupid_ reasons and I had no right... no reason to feel that way. I know this is going to sound so... _'Woe-is-me'... _But I've just had so... little... in my life; I've had to fight for every tiny... thing, _scrap_ I was given or I got it myself. It's like that fighting instinct is ingrained in me, part of who I am. It's like my default setting... I just..." My heart broke for her, at her words... I could see that everything she said was the God's honest truth. I honestly felt that Rose didn't have a nasty bone in her body but with her upbringing, the parents she had; her instinct to fight for and defend any morsel of good she got and saw as hers was strong... I knew I couldn't, _didn't_, hold that against her, but I was still too angry at the disease that was going to take my friend to deal with her indiscretion as fast as I should... I only had room in my head for one heartache at the moment; I needed to file the 'Rose/text issue' for another day. She took a deep breath and stood up, still not looking at me. "I made lunch..."

She started to walk to the door, but I didn't want her to leave just yet. "Rose." She turned her sad eyes to me and I wondered if she knew that I knew about the missing text and was waiting for me to blow up at her, confirming her fears first in case I didn't. I needed to hold her, needed comfort, so selfishly I opened my arms to her instead of talking and she quickly and willingly snuggled into my embrace.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: ** I'm sorry for how long it's taken me to get back to this story. I've had the WORST case of writers block ever... After more than 3 years of constant writing, I just couldn't seem to write even one paragraph! I want to thank my good friend Angela who helped me through some rough patches and pushed me forward at night to get this finished... I haven't completely got my groove back, but I'm getting there, so I won't promise the next chapter, next week... but I do promise not to give up this story... I WILL finish this... so please be patient with me.

That said, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope you'll let me know what you think.

Till next time... Sandy!


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